Blackened Hearts and Desert Pearls
by DuckofIndeed
Summary: Gol and Maia have returned with one goal in mind, to continue from where they left off three centuries earlier. But, when Gol meets a young woman in the Wasteland, things aren't so simple. Meant as one version of their return, but also intended to look closer at the people they once were and if there is any hope for them, or are they doomed to die as monsters twisted by Dark Eco?
1. Prologue

Hello. Here is my first fan fiction in many, many years. This story is intended to not only show one possibility of what may happen if and when Gol and Maia do return, but I want to try and get into their previous selves, too. Anyway, on with the story. Hope you like.

Oh, and these characters and places and all that are property of Naughty Dog, not I, because if I owned them, Gol and Maia would have returned for real by now. (And Daxter wouldn't have donned pants. He looked cuter without them.)

* * *

**Blackened Hearts and Desert Pearls**

**Prologue**

Far, far out in the Wasteland was a place few dared to go, even the Marauders and citizens of Spargus, who possessed spirits toughened to leather by the harsh life of the desert. This particular place had been forest once, centuries past, but the innumerable sands of the Wasteland had finally crept even here and swallowed up all the trees. Now, little stood there but dead pillars of wood, the remains of the trees whose roots had been choked with sand, and dunes that were gradually eroded away by the wind to only be built up elsewhere. And something else. Something else stood in this particular section of the desert and was the reason the people of the Wasteland did not tread here.

Several large pillars, once hundreds of feet high and now made considerably shorter as the sand built up around their bases. They were of varying sizes and of bronze Precursor metal, showing signs of wear, but less than expected from their treatment over the years, though with much of their original shine gone. The Dark Eco silos.

These pillars always filled all who saw them with dread, and who could blame them? These pillars, built possibly thousands of years ago by the Precursors, contained the majority of the planet's Dark Eco. Such a substance needed to be contained. While it had existed as long as any other kind of Eco, this variation was dangerous. It twisted all it touched, turning all who were exposed to it to something no longer quite human. Or simply killed them. The dark bubbling ooze meant death or worse, and it couldn't be allowed to coexist with the fragile life of this world. That was why the Precursors banished it away to the confines of the silos.

But, for some, it also meant power, and that was why, long, long ago, two people tried to open the silos. To take that Dark Eco and use it to reshape the world. They tried to play God, and they were punished for it.

And that brings us to the other reason why this was such a feared place. Centuries ago, those people had been locked away in those same pillars they had so desperately wanted to open. Some thought them dead. Some had their doubts. And the rest, well, they had forgotten the two had ever really existed. Their story had turned to legend for a time until so many years had gone by that no one believed any longer that it had ever happened. They were eventually reduced to monsters parents used to scare unruly children. In fact, few remembered anymore that they were even human. Even fewer knew what kind of people they had once been. Centuries ago.

* * *

Within one of the silos was the dilapidated head of a Precursor robot and inside lay two bodies. But, they were not dead, just sleeping. When they had first become trapped in the silo, they had tried frantically to escape. The man attempted to return function to the remains of the robot, but it was beyond repair, while the woman complained and questioned over and over how a mute kid and his orange rat could have done this to them. After weeks of fruitless bickering only siblings were capable of, they finally gave up. Not completely, however, as they continued this process intermittently, albeit halfheartedly, like some sort of ritual, as if the repetition of these same actions would magically reverse what was done. But it did not, and they gradually resigned themselves to their fate.

And now they slept. They did a lot of this, more and more as time went by. How long had it been, the man wondered. How long had they been prisoners here, stuck inside the machine that was supposed to secure their place as gods over this world, kept alive just to be tortured by boredom and hopelessness by the Dark Eco surrounding their cell. The very substance that gave them power also kept them trapped. It was as infuriating as it was ironic! He couldn't stand to be locked in here any longer! Enough was enough! All this because of a brat and his pet! It sickened him! He and his sister were meant to be the most powerful beings in the world, and this is what they were reduced to. He wouldn't stand for it!

Gol Acheron, the Dark Eco Sage, opened his bloodshot eyes, blue eyes turned red by Dark Eco only the Precursors knew how long ago. He clutched his chest and gasped for air, oh, how sick he was of this blasted wheeze, and got up from where he lay on the floor. He looked to where his dear sister slept, snoring quietly. If anything, he had to find a way out of here for her. She was the person dearest to him. The only one who stood by him when he decided to study Dark Eco, even when their parents rejected him. He was getting them out of here. Now.

He stumbled as the whole place shook, dull blue lighting flickering more than ever (it was a wonder it had lasted this long, apparently the Precursors made the lighting in their machines more robust than anything). Maia stirred.

"What was that?" She yawned and blinked at him, rubbing one eye.

"How should I know?" He went over to the console as Maia got up, brushing long tresses of her hair out of her face and rubbing her back, no doubt sore from all the time spent laying on the hard, metal floor.

Gol pressed a few buttons and brought up the view screen. He had turned it off long ago, both to conserve power and to avoid staring at the endless Dark Eco outside, as beautiful as it was. As of late, he could hardly stand the sight of it. When the screen came up, a new sight greeted them.

"Where'd it all go?" Maia asked, putting a hand on her hip. "What happened?"

"I don't- Wait!"

Maia ran to the door and opened it. Without a second thought, she jumped out, and he followed. Any further warning was pointless apparently. He put his hands on either side of the doorway and leaned out. They were in a large tunnel that went as far as he could see, lit by long rows of lighting suspiciously similar to what was inside the robot. Maia had already wandered off a short ways, looking all around in wonder. She turned to him as he stepped out, her arms open wide. "We're free, dear brother!"

"We certainly are, dear sister. But, where are we?" A channel ran down the center of the tunnel, Dark Eco flowing through it like a lazily-moving river. Aside from the silos, he had never seen so much of it in one place before. A large, curved wall perhaps twenty feet high stood to the other side, from which the Dark Eco flowed from a large arch. It was like they had been washed up somewhere.

"Who cares? All that matters is we're out." She sauntered back to him and put her hands on her hips. "So what's the matter? Nothing to say?"

"We must have sunk far below the surface. Perhaps to where the world's Eco originates," Gol said, more to himself than her. Fascinating. He had pondered about the existence of such a place, but never did he think he'd actually see it.

"And you know what that means?" She walked in front of him, a large, wicked grin on her face. "We finally have limitless Dark Eco. It took longer than we planned, but…"

A similar smile crossed the Sage's face, made even more wicked by his bizarre features. "I know, dear sister. Now we can continue from where we left off."

He raised a bent arm, and she linked her arm through his. "Exactly. Let's get to it." And they strolled down the tunnel, arm-in-arm, with one goal in mind.

* * *

And so the siblings began their search for a way out and a way to continue their wicked plans. But, this is not simply a tale of an evil reawakened. It is also a tale of redemption. Or at least, it could be.

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Prologue complete. I hope you enjoyed reading it. Read and review, pretty please, and I'll give you cookies with a cold glass of Yakow milk. Chapter 1 should be up soon.


	2. Chapter 1: The Labyrinthine Prison

Behold chapter 1, which includes my attempt to make the sentence "They wandered around." into a full chapter. According to the extras in this great "Jak 3" guide, Gol and Maia apparently ended up in the Catacombs, and so that is exactly what this chapter is about. Why they don't simply teleport out whenever they become trapped places is beyond me. They could have been out of the silo in a second….

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**Chapter 1: The Labyrinthine Prison**

The tunnels went on forever. At least, they appeared to. The twins wandered and wandered, and their earlier delight at having escaped their previous prison melted eventually into frustration at a nagging realization that perhaps they weren't free after all, but had only wandered into a larger, but equally inescapable, cage.

They attempted to teleport out, but as with the robot, they were unable. Too much to go through, and they could very well end up within a wall, and that would be even worse than their current predicament.

To add further to the confusion, the tunnels branched off in all directions, which made keeping track of them all but impossible. The river of Dark Eco also branched off like the limitless necks of a hydra, and they followed it for a time for little reason else but to keep their bearings. But, they eventually realized the Dark Eco would either lead back to the silos or farther into the planet's depths. With no small amount of apprehension, the pair decided it would be best to leave the canals and take a path that seemed to travel upward at a shallow angle.

After days or even weeks of this, they didn't know, they managed to find dead end after another, but no exit. At the umpteenth caved-in passageway, Maia broke down. With a scream, she charged at the wall and beat her fists against it.

"I can't stand it in here any longer! Maybe these tunnels don't even lead outside! We're trapped all over again!" She rested her head on the wall, breathing heavily.

Gol came up beside her and brushed her hair out of her face. "Now, now, dear sister, don't fret. We're bound to find a way out eventually."

"That's what you said about the robot."

"And we did, did we not?" He gestured around them.

She turned around and leaned her back against the wall, arms crossed. "The way our luck's been going, I wouldn't be surprised if these tunnels just lead into another maze."

"There has to be a way back to the outside world. There are signs the Precursors were here long ago." Indeed, there was ancient Precursor writing on the walls in places, in a dialect so old, even the Sage couldn't translate it. "Surely they couldn't have resided in a place inaccessible to the world above."

Maia sniffed. "Maybe that's why they disappeared." Gol watched as she brushed past him. "Come on, then, let's keep going."

And that's exactly what they did, as there was nothing else that could be done. At first, their hopes were periodically dashed as they managed to arrive back at the canal time and time again, but they finally got the hang of the tunnels until it was some time since they last saw the river of Dark Eco. Surely that could only mean they were making progress.

In addition to being a largely featureless place, aside from the lights, some of which had gone out, and the old Precursor writing, it was a rather eerie place to be trapped in. It was silent except for the echoing of their footsteps and the sound of Gol's labored breathing and Maia's complaints. It was also cold, not freezing, but enough to make one shiver and rub their arms for warmth every now and then. Gol was at least grateful for the dim lights. Without them, this place would no doubt be their graves.

Maia stopped and yelled. "I hate this place!" Moments later, her words echoed back at them. "Let's just take a break. I'm sick of these tunnels."

She plopped down beside the wall and huffed. Gol sat next to her, and before he could, she grabbed his arm and put it around her. He pulled her closer.

"You're ice cold," she said, before snuggling closer to him. It wasn't long before she was asleep. Gol had no idea how his sister could fall asleep in the strangest of places. Their long trek had made him weary, but he couldn't sleep. These endless tunnels were unsettling. And as he sat there, he could almost swear he heard sounds off in the distance, made more obvious now that there was no sound from their footsteps to drown it out. He knew nothing else could be out there. His mind must be playing tricks on him. But, he thought he heard something, nonetheless. Far off and nearly indistinguishable, but there. He grabbed his chest and drew a breath, as if that sound would provide some relief from the noise, if only for a second. He listened again, his ears now straining involuntarily for the sound, but it had stopped. Definitely his imagination. He rested his head on top of Maia's.

* * *

Gol was awoken by his sister squirming out of his grasp. "I'm surprised I fell asleep. All I could hear was your wheezing."

"I'm sorry if my poor state of health annoys you, dear sister," he said. He didn't even realize he had fallen asleep.

After struggling to his feet, thoroughly sore, they continued on their way, Maia's spirits temporarily up from her nap, only to be brought crashing down hours later when they arrived at a tunnel that was pitch black.

"Not that I'm afraid of the dark or anything, but I'm not going in there."

Gol sniffed the air. It didn't seem quite as stale here. And he could almost feel…a breeze. "This might be our way out, dear sister."

"Really? How can you tell?"

"Just trust me." He summoned sparks of Dark Eco to his hand. They danced about his fingertips, throwing out a small radius of flickering light, as he started forward, treading slowly. Maia followed close behind.

"I hope you're right, dear brother. I certainly wouldn't want to get lost in here."

"Neither would I. But, do you feel that, dear sister?"

"What?"

"A breeze. Just a slight one, but it's there. I feel it." They had to be close. There was no wind underground. Of that he was certain, or he wasn't the Dark Eco Sage.

Ahead, he caught a sliver of light. Maia had, too. "Daylight!" she said. In her excitement, she gave up walking to fly over to it. "Just a little bit peeking through these big rocks. But…they're all blocking the exit!" She hit the rocks with a fist.

Gol caught up to her and looked through the small crevice, then withdrew. The bright sunlight hurt his eyes. They were at an exit, all right, but they weren't squeezing through that gap in the rocks. Neither of them were _that_ thin.

Maia rested her chin on her fist. "I think I have an idea, dear brother."

"What is it?"

"An explosion." She retreated a ways, then thrust one arm out to the side, a purple ball growing inches from her hand. "Join me."

"We must be careful, dear sister."

"Come on. You want out of here, don't you?"

He went beside her and raised his hand, joining his power with hers. Before long, they had created a ball of Dark Eco several feet across, crackling with energy, bathing the tunnel and themselves purple.

"Ready, dear brother?"

"I am."

They sent the ball flying. It struck the wall, disintegrating the boulders and spraying them with dust.

"We did…" Maia started, coughing into her arm, but the tunnel began to shake and pebbles started to fall from the ceiling.

"Maia…" Before he could go to her, he felt a pain as something struck him on the head and everything went black.

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Please review. I've just baked fresh cookies. And chapter 2 will be up soon.


	3. Chapter 2: A Necessary Nuisance

Chapter 2 ahead, where my original character is introduced. I found this chapter to be very entertaining to write, and I hope reading it will be equally as entertaining.

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**Chapter 2: A Necessary Nuisance**

Gol's head was killing him. And so was his leg. And his lungs had filled with liquid again, but that was nothing new. He opened his eyes and immediately closed them. It was bright, wherever he was. He made to take a breath, but to no prevail. Curse it, why was it that he could no longer sleep on his back without suffocating? He pushed himself up to a sitting position with one hand and started hacking wildly into the other.

After that was through and he could take a few, if shuddering, breaths, he opened his eyes again. He was in a small room, white, stucco walls starting to yellow with age. He was lying in a bed in the corner, next to a small table with an old-fashioned oil-burning lamp (What, no Eco here?) set atop, with a sturdy, but worn wooden chair next to it. A dresser sat squatly against another wall, with various little trinkets placed on top, obviously with care.

It was a simple room, but the most gaudy thing met his gaze when he looked down. On top of the bed was a white quilt, with kittens of all things stitched across it. As he stared at it in disdain, one kitten clearly seemed to be mocking him. It was definitely staring right at him. With a snarl, he snatched the quilt up, bunched it up into a ball, and tossed it across the room. It hit the dresser with a muffled thump, making one of the tiny trinkets rock unsteadily before settling back down to its intended position.

Before he could step out of bed and make his escape, he was startled by a shrill voice.

"Rise and shine! I never thought you'd wake up! How you feelin'?"

He stared as someone, or something, walked into the room. It was short and dusty, wearing scratched armor and a mask that resembled some kind of creature with curving tusks and a yellow gem in its forehead. It grabbed the bottom of the mask with one hand and pulled it up over its head, shaking loose a tight, honey-colored ponytail. It was a woman, likely in her mid 20's, with a plain, but tanned, face and freckles strangely only on her left cheek. She smiled widely at him, but brought it back to a mere grin when he didn't return the look.

She took another step forward, taking off a glove and offering the now bare hand to him. "Forgive my appearance." She _was_ rather sweaty, making shaking her hand that much less appealing. "Name's Kassra, but everyone calls me Kass."

He blinked at her, his frown deepening. Who was this fool, and did she not know who he was? She lowered her hand. "Usually it's customary to tell someone your name when they offer you theirs."

She didn't know, did she? Well, after what his sister and he had tried to do, it was probably for the best.

"My name is none of your concern."

She seemed slightly taken aback, either from his tone or his strange, echoing voice, but only for a moment. She glanced to the side. "Didn't like my quilt, did you? My gran made it for me. She's the nicest woman you'd ever want to meet."

"Are we through here?" He made as if to stand. He had things to do, and he hadn't the time to waste on such pointless chit chat.

She put a hand on his chest. "Uh-uh. You're not going anywhere."

He shoved her away. "Don't touch—"

"You have a broken leg."

This fact was confirmed as soon as he stood. A sharp pain shot up his left leg, and he yelped and fell back into a sitting position.

"Told you so. I set it, but it's not healed yet."

Well, no matter, he could just fly out of here. He didn't need his leg. But, after giving another look at the woman, fists now on her hips and face set in the kind of expression one gave to a naughty child who in no way would escape their ordeal without a spanking, he stayed where he was. If he suddenly took flight, she would likely pounce on him without a second thought. But, he didn't have to like it, and he hoped his displeasure was clear on his face.

"So get back in bed. I'm still not done taking care of you."

"No." Maybe he should just kill her.

"I can't let someone with an injury leave. You wouldn't last an hour in the Wasteland in your condition." She crossed her arms and cocked her head to the side.

"You'd be surprised."

"And _you'd_ be surprised just how hard it'll be to leave before I say so."

Insolent girl! Why, he could break her scrawny neck… Wait a minute… "And how did you get me here in the first place, might I ask? Bully someone else into carrying me?"

"No." She flexed the biceps in one arm. "I'm strong. I dragged you. Not that you weigh much. You look like you haven't eaten a thing in a hundred years."

Imagine that. "No, nothing but little girls I don't like."

She snorted and chuckled in a very unbecoming fashion. But, it wasn't entirely meant as a joke. At this point, he was halfway considering turning to cannibalism, if only for today.

"Okay, back in bed, mister 'it's none of my concern'." She pointed to the bed. "Now let me take care of you. I promise, I'm gentle."

He sighed. She was persistent. And he was tired. He resigned himself to laying back down, propped up in a sitting position with the pillow (fortunately, devoid of any frolicking animals) and crossed his arms. "You can at least leave me in peace."

But, she had just walked out. That was easy. Too easy… He watched the doorway in suspicion. He heard her rattling away in another room, but perhaps he could slip by her, after all.

Just as he was seriously considering another escape attempt, she came back in, armor off, revealing brown pants and a dusty white shirt, with a bowl of water and a rag. He didn't know what she planned on doing with it, but he knew he wouldn't like it.

He growled at her. "Don't even."

"What?" She put her things down on the table and pulled the chair closer. She plopped down and dabbed the rag in the water, seemingly unaware of the look of pure malice he was directing at her as he started to edge away. What was she doing now? She held the dripping rag at arm's length towards him as he prematurely dodged. "Hold still."

"Absolutely not."

"Stop being a child."

"I'm not a child!"

"Then, prove it!" She got up and put her hand on the Sage's chest again, while he fought. She then put her full weight on him as he struggled like a feral animal held by a rope. Why did this world insist on torturing him! First the silo, then the cave-in, and now this! She finally succeeded in scrubbing his forehead, while he grimaced as a few drips of cold water ran down his face. This went on for an excruciating several seconds before she stopped and sat back down, wringing the rag out over the bowl.

"You hit your head. I still didn't get all the blood."

He wiped the water off his face with his sleeve using far more force than was strictly necessary. "So are you done pestering me now?"

"One more thing." She took her things and stood up, moving the chair back to its original spot with one hand.

"No, no more 'things'! Let me rest in peace!"

It wasn't clear if she heard him, as she had already left again. He then proceeded to watch the doorway with no small amount of intensity, breathing heavily, causing himself to wheeze rather noisily. She didn't come back as quickly this time, and the throbbing in his leg started to get to him. What a frail, old man I've become, he thought. And now I'm letting a child tell me what to do. Small wonder I despise children.

She returned. She had another bowl this time, but a spoon in place of a rag. He groaned.

"Go away! I'm not hungry!" He turned away from her as best he could with his leg aching as it was.

"Says the thinnest man in the world. You're thinner than me, and that's not fair. Men shouldn't get to be thinner than women."

He said nothing, and she came closer. Why couldn't she just leave him be? As little as he wanted to be here, he was tired, and this bed was far more comfortable than the floor inside the Precursor robot or the tunnels. Maybe if he managed to doze off soon, she'd go away.

"Just eat a little something, and I'll leave you alone. 'Kay?"

"I'm not—"

"I'm not buying it. Hold out your hands, or I spoon feed you." And she would, too, wouldn't she?

"Oh, fine already! But, this is it!" He wasn't bargaining with her. He was commanding her. He really was.

"I promise." She smiled at him and handed him the bowl. He wanted to slap her. He glared at her until she left the room, making it most clear she was absolutely not welcome here, then, turned his attention to the bowl. It smelled horrid. And it looked horrid. Worse than Maia's cooking. He knew it was. It was an unpleasant shade of yellow, with bits of green and orange visible.

As if in anticipation of his unspoken question, he heard, "It's vegetable soup!" cut through the silence. He looked around. She wasn't back already, was she? But, she was nowhere in sight. "Sorry," she continued, "that's all I have right now."

After further procrastination, he finally took a taste. It was overly salty and bitter, but he supposed it wasn't quite as horrendous as he would have guessed. But, that was only likely because he was indeed hungry. But, only a little. After drinking enough of the broth as to hopefully satisfy the woman, while leaving the vegetables well enough alone (he had always hated vegetables, almost as much as his dear sister did), he left the bowl on the table and pondered, hands on his stomach, fingers laced together. Where _was _his dear sister? Surely she should have been nearby, but the woman made no mention of her, and he had been too distracted by her treatment of him that he had neglected to ask.

Gol furrowed his brow in contemplation as he involuntarily imagined his sister lying under rubble somewhere, hopelessly mangled. Why hadn't the woman mentioned her? He would have to wait to find out, however. He wasn't bringing that woman back any earlier than he had to. He didn't have much time to worry over his sister's fate, though, before his eyelids grew heavy, and he fell back into sleep.

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While Gol takes a much needed nap, please review. I hope you like my new character, even if Gol does not. But, I suspect he doesn't like anyone but his sis. What horrors will our poor Sage face next?


	4. Chapter 3: Engines

Gol's torment at the hands of Kassra continues. And something else occurs… Plus, my theory on why Gol has that weird glove on one arm.

And thanks very much to the reviewers.

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**Chapter 3: Engines**

The feeling of something touching him brought Gol out of a fitful sleep. His eyes shot open to witness the woman examining his leg. If it was in a more desirable condition, he'd kick her.

"What are you doing now?" the Sage asked, sitting up straighter.

"Being a good doctor." She looked up only long enough to grin before going back to her work. He could see now a ragged gash in his leg, sewn up. She wiped a towel over it, and he winced. That stung!

"Wouldn't want it getting infected, now would we? I sewed it up myself. How do you like my handiwork?"

"Why did you need to sew anything?" Surely he wasn't injured _that_ severely. He started to wonder if she broke his leg herself so she could imprison him here.

"The bone broke the skin, silly. You were in a pretty bad accident. You're lucky that I found you." The fact that this bothersome woman had was a testament to exactly the opposite, he thought.

She dried off his wound and started to re-bandage it and put the splint back in place. She made it very tight, but was surprisingly gently, considering.

"And you fixed all that yourself." It was more of a statement than a question. She wasn't quite as stupid as she looked. He'd give her that much.

"Mm-hmm. Told you, I'm a good doctor. You gotta know how to treat injuries out here. What can I say, I got the gift."

He snorted. He'd hardly call it a gift. He had treated worse than that, back before the Dark Eco had transformed his sister and him into their current, superior forms. People had always viewed them with distrust, him especially. He was the Sage of Dark Eco, after all. They always feared those they didn't understand, simple, close-minded fools that they were. But, when someone was hurt or sick from exposure to Dark Eco, they'd always come running to their Sage for help. And he always healed them. He was too nice back then.

The screech of the chair on the rough wooden floor as the woman stood up, her previous task done, brought Gol out of his thoughts. He still had something to ask before she left.

"My sister, have you seen her?"

"Um…should I have?"

Did he not make his question quite clear? "She was with me, during the accident. She should've been nearby. Surely you must have seen her!"

The woman scratched her head. "Sorry, I really can't say that I did. If I had, I would've brought her here, too, y'know. There was so much rubble, I could've missed her." Seeing the look on his face, she smiled. "But, don't worry, I'm sure she's okay. I mean, _you_ survived. I'll tell the other villagers to keep an eye out for her, 'kay? What's she look like?"

"Same blue skin as me. Same white hair. You'll know her when you see her." Where could she be? And why hadn't the woman seen her? Was she buried under a pile of rocks? He didn't even know where exactly he was to find his way back to her, and his leg was aching more than ever after the woman messed with it. Not that it probably mattered by now, if she was already… No, better not think about it. His dear sister was quite resilient. She was out there somewhere. Perhaps someone else had found her. Perhaps.

The woman stopped at the doorway and turned back to him, leaning against the doorframe. "Y'know, it's funny."

What could possibly be funny at a time like this? Gol looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"I found you outside one of the entrances to the old Catacombs. The people of my village had sealed it up long ago, claiming that if they didn't, something evil might come through one day." She laughed. "Superstitious, I guess. You and your sister didn't come from there, did you?" She laughed again and turned to leave. "Get some rest. I'm sure your sis'll turn up soon."

The Catacombs? That's what those tunnels had been. He vaguely remembered reading about them once in an old history book. The Precursors had built them, way back at the beginning of the planet's creation.

He leaned back to his earlier position and rubbed his forehead with the palms of his hands. He had done hardly anything but nap and deal with that woman, but he was still tired. And his sister… There was nothing he could do about that right now. Best not to dwell on it too much. She had to show up soon. Or he'd find her himself.

Gol spent the next several weeks in relative peace. His headache had subsided, and he hardly noticed the pain in his leg anymore. The woman had enough sense to bother him less, and at his request, she brought him all the books she could get her hands on. Without them, he'd be bored out of his mind, plus he could try to learn about this new time he had found himself in. Most of the books were not much help. He at least wanted to know what year it was, but he certainly couldn't ask the woman outright without looking insane.

But, he did learn a few things. It seemed there was a great city named Spargus out in the Wasteland, built by the people banished from a place called Haven City. This Spargus seemed a small enough threat. Just a ragtag bunch of idiots that knew about nothing more than shooting guns and riding around in the desert on wheeled vehicles of all things. What happened to the A-GraV Zoomers of his time? He and his sister would crush them with ease. Especially if they were anything like, what was her name? Kassren. Or something.

This Haven City, on the other hand, might be something to watch out for. Unlike Spargus, their technology had advanced. Their destruction would be even more satisfying.

In addition to bringing him books, the woman only came back in to bother him when she was tending to his leg or bringing him meals. She finally stopped bringing anything that contained vegetables when she saw that he never touched them, but when she was examining his leg, she still would sometimes bother him with her babbling. Not as much as previously, but still some. And he'd make as if he wasn't listening, even though he was. It wasn't that he was interested, but her talking distracted him from his reading.

Apparently she, like every other Wastelander, was not far different from the gun-toting buffoons of Spargus. While her father had taught her to hunt, her mother had done her fair share of it herself. The woman also spoke of how she had made herself armor from the plating of Metal Heads (the name was vaguely familiar to Gol, but he couldn't quite place where he had heard of them). She laughed when she commented that she thought the mask made her look tough. She also told him about the other members of her family and her garden and other such drivel. Gol really couldn't care less about any of this, but telling her so would likely only cause her to talk more, so he stayed silent.

She only braved a question directed at him once, about the glove on his right arm, but that was understandable. Not many people had a large glove made of Precursor metal that went up to the elbow, with tubes going into their arm. As with her query about his name several weeks prior, he avoided answering. Frankly, it was none of her business. Just an experiment gone completely and utterly wrong. Due to a slight miscalculation or a staggeringly large error in judgment on his part, likely both, now that he thought about it, the Dark Eco had eaten through much of the muscle in his right forearm, greatly reducing his ability to use it without a large amount of pain. And so with the aid of his sister and his knowledge of Precursor technology, he had constructed the glove to regain the use of his arm. Even though it had been a very long time since he had seen his right arm in its entirety, he still remembered what a gruesome sight it had been. Even Maia had cringed.

Aside from the woman's occasional nonsense, though, it was a rather peaceful time. Mainly he'd spend his time reading with the silence broken every here and now by a noise from the woman, either the usual everyday sounds or her humming. This bothered him at first that she had the nerve to disturb his peace in such a manner, but he gradually grew accustomed to it. Maia used to sing as she went about her work, as well, before the Dark Eco had taken any major effect on her. He rather missed it, but he knew his sister would tease him if ever he mentioned it.

Only once did he believe he heard another sound, like soft crying from the other room. He couldn't tell for sure, as it was barely audible, but there was certainly a noise one night that he couldn't quite identify.

But, aside from all that, the Sage noticed that it was a surprisingly quiet village. In fact, he didn't believe he heard any noise not made by the woman. His own village had been quiet, the one his sister and he had grown up in and the one they had moved to when he could no longer stand to be within one thousand feet of their disapproving father. But, not this quiet. It was perplexing, but Gol couldn't say he didn't find it soothing. He enjoyed this peace quite a bit, until one night it was broken by the loud growl of engines outside.

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Ooooh, what could it be? Why don't you review while you wait? I hope you are filled to bursting with suspense!


	5. Chapter 4: Ten Years Ago

Chapter 3's secrets shall be revealed. Plus, more surprises await!

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**Chapter 4: Ten Years Ago**

Gol sat up straighter and listened a little longer. There definitely seemed to be vehicles outside, and there was something about the sound he didn't like. There was then a sharp crack outside and then another. He wasn't terribly familiar with such sounds, but he was quite certain they were gunshots.

He got out of bed. His leg still hurt as soon as he put pressure on it, so he instead hovered a short distance over the ground and glided out into the main room. This room was simple like the bedroom, but with a different assortment of furniture, as expected. A few wooden chairs, some with threadbare cushions and some without. A low rectangular table. A fireplace. And a small kitchen off to the side. But, the woman was nowhere to be seen.

He hovered in place and listened. He wanted to know what he was heading into before he went outside. A few more gunshots. And a yell. It sounded like it came from Kassra. He rolled his eyes. What kind of trouble had she caused now?

He headed to the door, still left partway open, and went outside. The moon cast a pale light, along with the large green star that was a common sight in the heavens, like two differently colored eyes looking down at them from above. These two things, along with the lights outside the house, illuminated five, maybe six, no, ten, vehicles, the wheeled kind. They moved to flank the house, throwing up clouds of dust that made Gol cough and gasp for air. The woman stood not far off, yelling something about "Marauders" and some surprising profanities. She fired another warning shot into the air as rough, armored men started to emerge from the vehicles with rifles and curved, jagged swords.

The Sage narrowed his eyes and growled in his throat. He remembered mention of these men in those books. Murderers and thieves. They ransacked any village they could find and killed those who were foolish enough to wander out into the desert alone. At any other time, it wouldn't matter to Gol whether or not this woman was slaughtered like a chicken right outside her own house. But, it wasn't happening with him here.

He barely managed to dodge in time as one of the men opened fire on him. If he had more time, he would have that fool screaming for death before long, but he didn't, and he didn't currently possess such patience right now anyway. Gol raised his left hand, and from it came bolts of pure Dark Eco. They arced out, bolts striking the ground and sending up small plumes of sand, before reaching the man, who shook violently as the area was lit by a bright, purple glow for several seconds, until Gol released him, allowing him to fall bodily in a heap.

Oh, yes. It had been far too long since he had last wielded Dark Eco. He could feel the substance flowing through his body, pulsing through his veins. His heart quickened. He felt so alive! A wicked smile split his face.

The air erupted with gunshots. The Marauders knew they were in for it. He was sure of it. And if they didn't, he'd make sure they did before the hour was up. Gol raised his left hand again (the state of his right hand made using Dark Eco rather difficult), and a black and purple ball formed, electricity sparking from it as it hovered over his palm, illuminating the left side of his face. It grew and grew, and once it was a satisfactory size, with a casual motion, he sent it at the main group, sending men flying and screaming as the Dark Eco twisted and ate at their flesh. He then brought up a temporary shield that dissolved the bullets they sent at him in response.

This continued in a similar fashion. Gol noticed out of the corner of his eye Kassra firing at men with her own rifle, dodging, cracking another man on the skull with the butt of her weapon. One man with two long blades attempted to sneak up from behind as she was busy kicking a man who had wandered too close in the shins. He took the man out with another well-aimed Eco ball.

Not long later, it was over. The ground was strewn with bodies. Bullet wounds distinguished Kassra's kills, while burns and mutated flesh provided proof of the men Gol had brought down. The air smelled of gun powder and blood and ozone. They were all dead, the whole lot of them. The Dark Sage brushed his hands together in satisfaction.

Movement caught his attention. One last survivor was heading for his vehicle. When he saw Gol take notice of him, he instead decided to try his luck simply running for it. The Sage chuckled. Enjoy your last moments, he thought. Then, he was flying after the man, cloak billowing behind him. He closed the distance between them in seconds and readied his hand, but that was too easy. This was one of the men that had tried to kill him and Kassra. He flew ahead of the man and landed directly in front of him.

He grabbed the man's head and brought his face close, tightening his grip when the man struggled, sharp nails digging into the side of the man's head. The man's face was covered by a featureless mask. Gol pulled it off. He wanted to see the man's fear. The Dark Eco Sage smiled. "Hope it was worth it." And with a quick movement, he snapped the man's neck and let him fall. _Now_ it was over. Gol nodded to himself, as if in confirmation.

As Gol flew back to the scene of the skirmish, something struck him, and his mind began to fill with questions as he saw Kassra standing there, staring blankly, her mask in the dirt by her feet.

He landed nearby. "Where is everyone?"

She said nothing. Just took a few deep breaths. He opened his mouth to repeat the question, when she whispered something. It was quiet, but he just caught the words.

"They're all gone."

"Gone?" The only bodies were those of the dead Marauders. In fact, Gol hadn't seen anyone else leave their homes.

"They're gone," she said again, louder this time. Gol looked off into the darkness, in the direction of the other houses, and then back at her. The silence was then broken by the woman again, as she spoke louder still. "They're gone! Every one of them!" Her voice cracked. "They're…" She fell to her knees and buried her face in her gloves, sobbing. "All of them."

Gol watched her crying and heaving. It made no sense. It was clear they two were the only remaining people here, but this town was empty. Had been empty. No one came outside because there was no one to do so. But, an entire village does not suddenly vanish. Obviously, she had more explaining to do. But, it seemed now wasn't a good time for questioning.

He sighed. What was he supposed to do now? She was still crying and showing no signs of stopping. He had gotten used to dealing with such things, growing up with a sister, but Maia didn't cry anymore, so he was out of practice.

Finally, he walked over, the pain in his leg currently forgotten. He stood next to her, looking down at the woman. Let's see how much he remembered of stopping such things.

Gol knelt beside her, then, sunk lower until he was sitting on his feet. His leg was starting to ache, but he didn't care. He forced his hand up and gave her a single pat on the head. It was with his gloved hand, which was likely less than comforting. She kept on as before.

Hesitating at first, he put an arm around her. It was still his gloved arm, but he certainly wasn't getting up and going to her other side. She'd have to be satisfied with this.

"There, there," was the best he could come up with.

She started to sob harder, but leaned into his chest. Gol was fresh out of ideas. Now what? It was awkward enough with Maia, but he hardly knew this woman. What did she expect from him?

They sat in what was essentially silence, with the exception of the crying and a single, mournful call of some animal off in the distance, for the Precursors knew how long. Gol's feet had fallen asleep, and the ache in his leg had gradually gotten worse until it was really starting to get to him. But, there was little he could do about it. He was trapped.

"It…it happened over ten years ago."

He looked down. Her voice was muffled, as she had her face pressed into his chest.

"Excuse me."

She moved her head so her cheek was resting against him, her face free. "The…when the…Marauders first came." She sniffed and wiped her nose on the back of her glove, while he cringed. He'd have to wash his clothes later.

"You'll have to elaborate," he said.

"I was…I was just…" Her sobbing started up again. Oh, get on with it already! She calmed down and continued. "I was eleven when it happened. The Marauders…they came to our village…there were…so many of them…" Her voice got quieter, quivering. "I was so scared, I hid. I heard fighting outside. Gunshots. And screaming. I…I hid for the longest time, until long after all the noise ended." She paused, taking deep, shuddering breaths. "When I came out, they were all…" She buried her face in his chest again and wrapped her arms around him. He understood now.

"I failed them," she whispered.

"No…"

"I did. I really did." She sniffed. "It was my fault."

"It wasn't your fault." _He_ had failed his sister. They had become trapped in the silo because of him. _That_ was _his_ fault.

There was more silence. Her tears had soaked through his clothes a little bit, and his leg was killing him. He should've started out in a more comfortable position. When it was clear she had no more to say, he looked over her as best he could from his angle. Aside from cuts and bruises, she had no serious injures that he could detect.

The Sage put his other arm around her, pulling her up as he tried to stand, and picked her up. He had no doubts she could walk, but he didn't think she was going to anytime soon. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, as if one of the bodies of the Marauders would suddenly spring back to life and snatch her away from him. He limped back to the house, pushed the door open with his good foot, and went inside. He closed the door in much the same manner as he had opened it, then, proceeded to carry her to the bedroom. It was the only one of the house. He had found she had been sleeping in a chair ever since finding him. He put her in bed and pulled the sheets up to her stomach. She was still in her armor, but he wasn't doing anything about that.

"Thank…"

"Go to sleep," he said. He turned and blew out the lamp and left.

Out in the living room, he stood for a bit, thinking, stroking his beard with one hand. He then returned outside and listened. All was quiet again. He raised his hand and sent a large ball of Dark Eco straight up into the sky, a flare of sorts. He watched as it eventually stopped a couple hundred feet up. If his dear sister was watching, surely she'd see that and know who it was from. He then returned inside and felt around for a chair in the dark. He found one and sat. (It was one of the chairs with a cushion.) He crossed his arms at his waist and took a deep breath, or at least as deep as he could manage with his condition. He actually had an easier time sleeping in a chair than a bed anymore, and it wasn't long before he dozed off, certain he would see his sister again soon.

* * *

I hope I did okay. I don't usually write fight scenes. And I bet you didn't expect Kassra's confession, either, did you? Unless you snuck into my house and read from my top secret, very confidential notebook. Which is impossible, as it is written in a secret code known only to me, as my handwriting is atrocious. Nope, my secrets are safe. Please review, and the next chapter will be up shortly.


	6. Chapter 5: Monsters

The next day. This chapter also includes much of Gol's recollections of the past, before the events of the first game, including a scene from Maia's and his childhood. Like I said, I want this story to explore more of the siblings' past in addition to the present day plot. I want to get a better idea of what they were like before the Dark Eco corrupted them.

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**Chapter 5: Monsters**

Gol awoke early in the morning, before the sun came up, as usual. Kassra was still asleep, and all the books were still in the bedroom, so he'd have to find other means of keeping busy. Which was fine. Maia used to sleep in, so he was used to staying quiet.

He went outside and got to work, retrieving Kassra's things that she had left behind from the night before, turning out the lights, and then went about disposing of the bodies. He carried them a good ways from town and dumped them in a pile. Let the scavengers take care of the rest. It was more than they deserved.

Finding himself rather dusty and no doubt crawling with all sorts of filth from the dead Marauders, he then returned to the house. He stopped before going inside. This was the first time he had seen the village in relative light (the sun was just starting to rise). It was now clear to see the place had been abandoned for quite some time. The once white stucco buildings had long fallen into disrepair, with broken windows and decaying walls. One had its door loose on its hinges, swinging lazily back and forth, tapping out a slow beat on the wall as a light wind moved it. Some showed signs of a past fire.

He then had second thoughts about going in just yet. He was in dire need of a bath after his work. And he still had sand clinging to his feet and legs from last night. It didn't take long for him to find the water source, a shallow river a short distance from the village, maybe ten feet wide, crystal water gurgling among the rocks, with scrub brush growing along the banks, no doubt thankful for the slight mercy the desert had given them. After finding a large rusty, aluminum pail behind Kassra's house, set beside a pathetic, little garden she had growing back there, and collecting enough bucketfuls to fill the tub, he was thoroughly exhausted and hot from the heat of the rising sun. And his back ached. He didn't know how Kassra did it.

Finally he had his bath ready, when he realized he had forgotten to heat the water. It had taken him enough work to get to this point! He settled for a quick, cold bath, but after making quite sure the door was securely locked. Not just because Kassra was here. He'd do the same if Maia was around. She had the most bothersome habit of walking into any room, regardless of whether or not the door was closed. And then she made as if it was his fault! How he missed her, though, bad habits and all. He was sure he had plenty of bad habits himself, not that he was certain what they were. The fact that he chewed up all his pens in times of deep concentration didn't count.

Once his bath was over, Gol returned to the living room. Kassra was still sleeping, or at least, she hadn't come out of the bedroom yet, and he no longer had anything to do to keep himself occupied. He settled for wandering around the room. There were more of those little trinkets on the mantle above the fireplace like in the bedroom. Upon closer inspection, he saw that they were tiny animals carved from wood. Kassra's handiwork, perhaps? She obviously had an unhealthy obsession with cutesy animals. In the middle of it all were carvings of three people. They were rough and featureless, but it was clear they consisted of a man, a woman, and a child.

She had been alone for quite some time. Why did she stay? There didn't seem to be anything left for her in this place. Gol had never been much of a people person, but he knew he'd get lonely if he didn't have Maia around for company.

He turned away from the mantle to pace about the room some more. The Sage didn't know what it was like to have all the people you knew suddenly die. But, he did have some idea what it was like to be alone. Alone, except for Maia, that is. Not in the literal sense, but in the sense that everyone but his sister had gradually turned on him. Upon hearing his decision to study Dark Eco and even, perhaps, become a Sage one day, the people he had known his entire life acted like they no longer knew him. They started to treat him with caution, as if he was tainted. Or as if one wrong move and he'd turn them to ash. But, he was not dangerous back then. Quite the opposite, actually.

Hardly any research had been done on Dark Eco. Everyone was afraid of it, and the few who did try to study it had been rumored to go insane. People claimed they had gone mad and had to be put down like rabid animals. Due to such stories, there was an unfair stigma attached to Dark Eco and anyone associated with it. Gol had intended to put an end to that stereotype. Nothing was quite as dangerous if you understood it. He had decided to learn all he could about it, and once he did, there would be nothing to fear. He would learn not only how to prevent and treat the effects of Dark Eco, but he would learn how to control it. He _had_ learned to control it. Old Samos the Green Sage claimed it couldn't be done, but oh, how wrong he was. No one knew as much about Dark Eco as Gol. No one. Only his dear sister came close.

But, all the villagers were too blind to see this. Even his parents. His father's disgust was obvious, but his mother just tried to act like nothing at all was out of the ordinary and that Gol was simply in a phase he would eventfully grow out of. Why couldn't anyone see what his sister and he were trying to do? Dark Eco couldn't be ignored forever. Someone needed to study it, and since they wouldn't, he did.

An old memory floated up from the depths of the Dark Sage's mind. A very old one from when he was but a boy, back before anyone saw him as dangerous. He had an interest in Dark Eco very early on, and he still clearly remembered the first time he had seen it.

As it always was and always will be, when a parent said "no", all a child heard was "yes", so when they had warned his sister and him to stay well clear of Dark Eco, he was immediately curious to see this substance everyone thought was so dangerous. One day, when his sister and he were about six or seven years of age, they had been playing out in the woods and had found a small pool of Dark Eco. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Purple and a black so deep, it felt like you could fall in just by looking at it, rippling about in waves even though there had been no wind that day.

He had been mesmerized by it. This is what their parents feared? It didn't seem so terrifying. If fact, it was wondrous. He _had_ to bring some home, so late that night, he had woken Maia up in their shared bedroom, where she slept in the upper level of the bunk bed. He had an idea.

They tiptoed out into the kitchen, and Gol found a large ceramic bowl their mother hardly ever used (he was certain she wouldn't miss it) and a soup ladle. Then, he pulled on their mother's dish gloves, for safety's sake, that were much too big for him. Maia started to giggle at his ridiculous appearance until he managed to quiet her.

They snuck out into the woods and collected as much of the beautiful substance as they could and brought it home. They hid the bowl under their bunk bed, along with the now very corroded ladle, and all was well. Their mother swore she looked absolutely everywhere for her missing things, but the twins were good at keeping secrets.

But, one day, Gol woke up to find the Dark Eco had eaten through not only the bowl, but had created a large hole in the floor that had begun to creep out beyond its hiding spot. He shook his sister awake, and the two hoped with all of their might that their parents wouldn't find out, but of course, they did, and they were punished. A scolding and a good spanking for them both, and then another scolding for good measure. But, it was too late. Gol had already seen Dark Eco, and he wouldn't soon forget it.

The Sage chuckled to himself, a strange, raspy sound. To think his sister and he had been foolish children once. It almost felt as if it didn't really happen.

"What's the matter?"

He looked over to see Kassra standing in the doorway of the bedroom, smiling at him. She had her armor in one hand and dropped it by the wall.

"Hmm?" Had she hit her head last night?

"I've never heard you laugh before. I can only assume something must be terribly wrong."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You're finally awake."

"Actually, I've been awake. I just…didn't feel like getting up, y'know." She sat down in one of the chairs and put her hands on her knees. He looked down at her before sitting, as well.

"This isn't my house, y'know," she said.

"Isn't it?" She was in the habit of being vague lately.

She shook her head, her undone hair swinging into her face. "No, I…after everything happened, my house was in bad shape. The windows were broken and… Well, there were too many bad memories. I mean, good memories, but after what happened, they kind of turned bad. If that makes sense."

He supposed it did. "Why do you stay?" he asked.

"Nowhere to go. The Wasteland's huge, and I'm really out in the boonies here. Can't even see Spargus' beacon from this far out. Plus, well, I must admit, I'm scared. If I go out alone, the Marauders may get me." She got quiet. "But, I guess I'm not safe here, either."

"I suppose not."

"As you've likely guessed, you're the only person I've seen in a long time," she said.

"I don't believe I've been very good company."

Kassra laughed. "You've been fine. And hey, you haven't been giving me the evil eye so much lately."

There was silence, and Gol tapped the fingers of his left hand on the arm of the chair, nails clicking on the rough, wooden surface, just to have something else to focus on. It felt like Kassra was staring at him. Finally, he asked, "Why didn't you tell me you were alone?" If he recalled correctly, she had done all she could to make him believe otherwise. She had been a convincing liar.

She shrugged. "Didn't want to. It's nice to pretend, I guess."

More silence. Gol stopped tapping his fingers and crossed his arms. He blinked feverishly. She was definitely staring at him, and he wasn't looking over. The silence was then broken by a most surprising statement.

"I think I know who you are."

He turned to see that she was indeed looking at him. Her face had become nearly serious. A rare look for her.

"Do you now? Well then, who am I?"

She turned away for a second, then, looked him in the eyes again. "You're that Sage…Gol…"

"Gol Acheron. That is correct."

"And your sister… You two tried to flood the world with Dark Eco." She said it as a simple fact, no sign of judgment in her voice. She furrowed her eyebrows in thought. "That was…three hundred years ago."

Three hundred years! Had it been that long? Before he could ponder the implications of this more, she spoke again.

"But, I don't think you're a monster at all."

Gol frowned. "Who said I was?"

"That's what the stories say. The Dark Eco turned you into monsters. My mother…she used to say if I went out into the desert alone, that you and your sister would get me." She gave a sheepish grin. "Well, I guess she wasn't _completely_ wrong. I _am_ alone in the desert, and here you are."

What idiots had made such rumors about them? They were certainly not monsters. If anything, everyone else was but insects that deserved to be crushed beneath their feet.

He heard her laugh again, and he glared at her. What was with her and her need to giggle like a loon?

"I bet you wonder how I figured it out."

He grunted at her in response.

"The Dark Eco you used last night. They say only two people could use Dark Eco that way. I mean, last I heard." She paused, and her voce softened. "I forgot to thank you for everything."

"You already did, actually." Where was Maia? Hadn't she seen his flare yet?

"I did? Oh, right. But, thank you again. Really."

"Hmm."

"And I don't believe the rumors. About, well, you know, you being a monster."

"How very kind of you," he said. She smiled. He didn't mean it as a compliment! Had she no concept of sarcasm?

The rest of the morning was uneventful. Kassra attempted small talk, but Gol had other things on his mind. Several centuries had passed since that awful day. The world would be very different. Already he had learned of two new cities in the area, but that was surely not the end of it. At least Jak and his obnoxious weasel would be long dead, along with old Samos. A shame he couldn't be the one to kill them, but it was a pleasant thought nonetheless. He looked forward to telling his dear sister the good news, if she wasn't already aware of it.

In addition to pondering the current state of the world and how he would continue their past plans, he checked the windows often for any sign of his sister, or went outside and flew up high to look all around. It felt like an eternity, but it was just turning to evening, when he saw a most peculiar shadow.

He watched as it glided over the ground. Something clicked in his mind, and he rushed outside. He looked up, a hand shielding his eyes from the sun, a blinding, pure white ball, glowering at him from where it hung a ways over the western horizon. He squinted and saw his dear Maia looking down at him, eyebrows raised and hands on her hips.

"About time I've found where you've been hiding, dear brother."

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Maia's finally back! And I want to deeply apologize for putting the image of Gol bathing into your head. At least, I didn't include any detail. Please review, and I will never do it again (At least, I can't currently foresee any need to subject anyone to that ever again.). I actually still won't even if you don't review, but please review anyway, because it is very nice.


	7. Chapter 6: Sand Crabs

The return of Maia and Kassra shows her corny side. But, it's important.

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**Chapter 6: Sand Crabs**

Gol rushed up to meet Maia at such a speed that he almost knocked her out of the air and squeezed her tight. "Dear sister, I've been so worried!"

She gasped. "You're squishing me!"

"Where have you been? I haven't seen you in a month!"

"I could say the same about you. You've been here the whole time?" She struggled to free her arms.

"I have. It turns out I didn't fare well when the tunnels caved in."

Maia finally extricated her arms and hugged him back. "Poor brother. I hope you're well now. We have so many things we must do."

He then broke their embrace to hold her at arm's length, eyes wide. "But, what about you, dear sister? Were you hurt?" She _looked_ well enough now, but one could never be certain. "You didn't—"

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" She floated backwards out of his grasp and spun in a circle. "Look, perfect as usual." She gazed down at the decaying town below them. "It's no wonder it took me so long to find you. I didn't think you'd be in such a place. I actually flew over it several times." She then smiled and gave him a peck on the cheek. "I followed your flare from last night. How clever of you. It would've been nice if you had thought of it earlier, though."

"Like I said, I've been…indisposed these last several weeks." He gestured to his injured limb. "A rather bad broken leg. I'm getting too old, dear sister."

"That's what I've been saying."

"But, you still haven't answered me. Where have you been all this time?"

"Oh, wandering." She began to occupy herself with twirling a few strands of ivory hair in her fingers. "After the cave-in, I got blocked in those tunnels again." She noticed his concerned look and added, "Oh, don't worry, I only had a few scrapes and bruises. Nothing even _you_ should be worried about, dear brother." She flew off a short ways, inspecting the town again. "Finally, I moved enough of the rubble to escape, and then I looked for you." She laughed and looked back. "It's really not an interesting story. Are you sure you want me to continue?"

Gol drifted over to her new location. "Please do."

"Well, in addition to looking for you, I decided to check out this new time period a bit, and I learned a few things. Did you realize it's been several centuries since the mute boy and his vermin trapped us in the silo?"

"I did."

She would have stomped her foot if she had been on solid ground. "It's so unfair! They probably died of old age. How satisfying would it have been if they had died by our hands, dear brother?"

He took a moment to think it over. "Oh, yes, that would have certainly been something."

Maia sighed in happy contemplation. Their pleasant daydreaming was interrupted by an "ahem" from below. The twins looked back to see Kassra standing there, gazing up at them.

His sister started to float down to the woman, with him trailing after. "Who is this?" She looked back at Gol in mock surprise. "Dear brother, I'm away for a month, and you find another woman to replace me?"

"Certainly not!"

She gave him a devious grin before turning back to the woman. "And what's your name?"

The woman blinked. "Kassra."

"You must be the person who's been taking care of my dear brother while I was gone." Maia looked back at him, still grinning. "Must be, as my brother's never been good at taking care of himself."

He frowned at her. Teasing him so soon, and they had just been reunited.

Kassra half-grinned. "Yeah, that's me."

Gol huffed. "We really must be going. We're a month behind everything!"

"A month and three hundred years. Plus, however long we were in those tunnels," his sister corrected.

"Behind on what?" Kassra asked. "Or is that none of my business, like usual?"

"That's exactly right," the Sage replied.

Maia put her hands on her hips and turned back to the rotting town. "Don't tell me you've been living in this sad, pathetic place?"

It was Kassra's turn to take on the same pose, but with a different expression. Not that Maia saw it. "As a matter of fact, yes, I have. This 'sad, pathetic place' is my home. I grew up here."

Maia crossed her arms, still with her back to the woman. "Well, it's pretty obvious it's your home or you wouldn't have a house here, now would you?"

Gol grinned at the exchange. Kassra could pester him all she wanted, but she was no match for his sister. Maia shouldn't taunt the woman _too_ much, though. As annoying as she was, Kassra _had_ helped him. But, he supposed he had helped her, as well. So they were even.

"Dear sister, as you so kindly pointed out, we are currently a month, three hundred years, and an amount of time that has yet to be determined behind schedule. We're not going to get anything done just standing here." Well, floating, but the semantics didn't matter.

"Oh, I suppose you're right." She turned back to Kassra. "Well, thanks for babysitting my—"

"Maia!"

She looked back at him and rolled her eyes. "Coming!"

As the siblings started to fly off, Gol stopped at the sound of Kassra's voice.

"Wait up!"

He looked down to see her running after them.

"It's _her_ fault we're being delayed now," Maia said.

"What is it?" the Sage yelled down to the woman.

"Just come down! It won't take long!"

He let out a sound halfway between a growl and a sigh. She would never let him leave. He knew it. He started to float down as his sister followed.

"Not her!"

"Excuse me? Dear brother, are you going to let her—"

"Just wait here." He flew down to where Kassra waited, a look of utter annoyance plain on his face, and crossed his arms. "And what is it this time?"

"I'm thinking of leaving town."

"Good for you. Why are you telling me this?"

"I…I don't know." She put her hands behind her back and looked down, kicking the dust with one foot. "Just thought I'd tell you. I…I don't want to be alone anymore. I'm…" She looked up again. "Your sister's right. What was her name?"

"Maia. So are we done?"

Kassra continued on. "This _is_ a sad place. It's my home, but it's sad and lonely and empty, and I don't want to stay here anymore. I'm heading out into the desert, and I'm not stopping until I find a new home for myself. Who knows, maybe I'll move to Spargus and become a city girl." She laughed.

"Well, you better be careful. I won't be around to rescue you again. Oh, that's right, according to your mother, my dear sister and I are the ones you should be worried about." Monsters? Them? It was absurd.

Before he knew it, she was hugging him. "I'll miss you."

He wouldn't miss her. After several moments, Gol patted her on the back, in case that was what she wanted, but she didn't let go. "You may release me now."

"I wish you wouldn't go, but I guess you have to." Perhaps she did break his leg to keep him here.

"I'm sure the next people you meet will be a lot nicer than me."

She laughed. And sniffed. Was she crying again? When she let go of him, her eyes had more of a shine than they should have, but that was all. She blinked rapidly a few times.

"Goodbye, then." He turned to leave again, but she grabbed his sleeve. She was really starting to get on his last nerve. Turning back, he growled at her. "Now what?"

She let go of him. "One more thing." It was always one more thing with her.

"Yes?"

"There's a story. About this creature out in the Wasteland. This sand crab. It's a mean, ugly little thing with beady eyes and little spines all over it. And big, jaggedy claws. It has a nasty temper, and many people have gotten a big, ol' pinch from it if they're not careful where they sit. But, every once in a while, it does something strange. Can you guess what that is?"

Gol remained silent. She had definitely hit her head last night. No doubt about it.

"It makes pearls! No one knows exactly how or why it does it, but it takes in sand and makes a pearl, kind of like how the clams in the ocean do. They're rare and beautiful. They're golden from the sand, and some say they're even more beautiful than the pearls the clams make. And it makes me think of something, y'know?"

No, he didn't know! Was she done yet?

"Even grumpy, little sand crabs are capable of beautiful things. Everything, actually, has a beautiful side." She held up a finger and added in a firm tone, "Everything, you hear me? Even this village, as sad as it is, has wonderful memories and beautiful sunsets as the sun goes down over the mountains. I even love my little garden. It doesn't do so well out here, but it tries, y'know. I'll miss this place when I've left. I know I will. But, I gotta leave, even if I know I'll be sad for a while. But, that's okay, because I know I'll find more beautiful things out there in the world." She tilted her head to the side. "You know what I'm getting at, don't you?"

He blinked at her. "I really must be going."

"I know. But, remember what I said, 'kay?"

He'd remember that she was insane.

"Goodbye," Kassra said.

Gol nodded and, after waiting a moment to see if she had anymore pointless drivel to add, returned to his sister. Maia was floating on her back, feet crossed at the ankles, hands behind her head. She yawned and floated back to an upright position. "I thought she'd never stop talking."

"If she has more to say, I'm not going back again. Come, dear sister."

As they started to fly off, he looked back for just a moment to see Kassra waving. The Precursors help whoever this woman managed to corner on her quest to find a new place to live. Odds are, she'd bother them to death, as she had almost done to him.

"I've already found the most perfect spot for our new citadel, dear brother," Maia said.

"Lead the way, dear sister." It was time to get back to work.

* * *

You starting to figure out my cryptic title? And I'm aware oysters make pearls, not clams. But, Kassra's a desert lass. She doesn't know any better. Plus, clam is a cute word. Please read and review.


	8. Chapter 7: The Second Citadel

Finally, Gol and Maia return to planning their next moves. And Gol reminisces about the past some more. It was a very entertaining bit of recollections to write. Oh, and this is not the same monk temple as in "Jak 3", but it's similar.

* * *

**Chapter 7: The Second Citadel**

Gol and Maia flew until just after nightfall before stopping in front of a rather large, stone structure, built on a mountain in such a way that it almost seemed to be a part of it. In fact, at this hour, if Maia hadn't already known it was there, they would have likely passed it by, entirely unaware that an ancient structure stood there. Much of the outer walls were crumbling, but the majority of the rooms within still appeared to be relatively intact.

"I know it's not much to look at, but this place will serve us just fine as a new citadel, don't you think, dear brother? At the very least, it's in such poor condition, no one will bother us," Maia said, before flying ahead. "Come on, let me give you a tour."

Gol followed his sister through a decaying arch that looked ready to topple into a courtyard, as Maia explained further. "This place appears to be an old temple, but there's no sign that anyone has used it for some time. Works well enough for us. Not that I'd have any qualms against 'evicting' them."

They headed through a tilting doorway on the lower floor, into a long hallway. "Don't worry, it won't be those horrid tunnels all over again. I've figured my way around. There's actually quite an extensive basement below here. It's in much studier condition than the upper rooms. Plus, it stays nice and cool."

Maia floated through another doorway leading to a spiraling staircase. Candles resting in alcoves in the walls caused the stairwell to flicker between varying levels of light and dark. Once past the stairs, they arrived in a larger room, high, vaulted ceiling supported by stone pillars. The room was not only lit by large, bowl-shaped containers housing flames, but large, slanting slits cut into the ceiling along one wall brought in moonlight from above.

Gol observed the space, one hand to his chin. A bit dark, but they'd certainly be safe from prying eyes here. "You've done well, dear sister."

"I know, I have, haven't I?" Maia said as she landed. "Oh, and you'll love this." She turned and went through another doorway, heels clicking on the stone floor.

Gol landed, as well, and followed. He found his sister standing in another large room, this one grander than the one before. The walls were lined with bookcases filled with, as expected, books. Many appeared brown and decayed with age, while others seemed like they might have been relatively new at the time the temple was abandoned. A circular skylight that was cloudy with a fine layer of dirt (the skylight was curved, no doubt for the purpose of keeping it from becoming completely buried beneath the constantly traveling sand of the Wasteland), but otherwise in surprisingly good condition, lit the room from above, the moon giving it an almost white glow, tinted a yellow from the sand.

"How nice, dear sister, a library. Our old citadel didn't even have one. Not that I should expect to have much leisure time." The dusty, old things could certainly provide him with more research, though. Probably better than the books Kassra had brought him.

Maia also showed him other rooms, one that she had already made into her own bedroom and another to be used as his, and the Sage decided another larger room would do just fine as his new lab. While this room was part of the basement level, this particular one was built into the side of the mountain, with a wall of windows that would let in plenty of natural light. Perfect for his work. Some of the rooms already contained furnishings, old wooden tables and chairs, and Maia had brought in more from other rooms and placed them where they may be needed. He felt a bit guilty she had done so much work while he had been wasting time in bed this last month.

It was getting late, and his sister decided to retire to her room, but the Dark Sage had too many plans swirling in his head to sleep just yet. He wandered the passageways of the temple. He had always liked old places such as this. He strolled from room to room, enjoying the solitude, while thinking of all the ways his sister and he could go about making the world their own. His dear sister. There was no one better to share such a victory with.

Long ago, when he was young, people had often asked him, Maia, too, why he never got married. It seemed a bizarre thing to ask a man, but he supposed if it seemed proper a woman married, there'd have to be a man to complete the arrangement. He tried to explain that he had no interest in romantic relationships, only in his work, but they didn't seem to believe it. (Like he would lie about such things!) One woman had even tried several times to set him up with her daughter, but said daughter was a giggling, airheaded thing with the intelligence of a hip hog, on good days, head adorned with pigtails that should have been abandoned long before she had reached that age.

And she was very persistent about pushing her affections on him, even when he showed no interest whatsoever in her. He had no choice but to be rather rude to her one day, something he practiced much less often back then, to make her finally leave him be, but this had caused her to run off sobbing. But, minor impoliteness and avoiding her and refusing to answer the door when she knocked and even going so far as to barricade himself inside for a week with all the shutters closed just didn't do the trick. After some discussion with his sister, they had both decided more drastic measures needed to be taken. Nothing else could be done at that point. (He supposed not _all_ people treated them with mistrust due to their association with Dark Eco. He wished that idiot had, though.)

On the other hand, Maia had done her fair share of dating at first, until she had become more occupied with assisting him in his research, which pleased him to no end. None of her boyfriends were even fit to be in her presence. And he couldn't stand the way they looked at her. Plus, he was well aware of what was on the minds of young men. He had no interest in such things and had far better ways of spending his time, but most men were not like him. If he hadn't been such a good brother, he'd have sabotaged her relationships. For her own protection, of course. He had certainly considered it. But, he didn't (he only came close once with one particularly shady young man who wore earrings like some sort of delinquent), and he would never admit to her he had ever thought such things.

After she gave up on such silly notions of romantic love and decided to simply spend her time helping him, Gol's mind was greatly put at ease. He didn't mean to be selfish, but she was much better off putting her intelligence to good use instead of getting married and having children and cooking and cleaning. Well, she did the cooking for him, but that wasn't the same thing, as he was dreadful at it. And he tried to help with the other chores, even if he sometimes made things worse. And besides, no one would ever love her as much as he did. Most people were no better than animals. They weren't capable of caring about someone else above themselves. It simply wasn't possible.

Gol was starting to get lost. Perhaps this wasn't a good place to go wandering around in the middle of the night. At least, not so soon. He headed back in the direction of their quarters, but arrived in a hallway he didn't recognize. After a bit more backtracking and finding himself returning to rooms he was just in, Gol finally found his way back to the staircase. He walked down, hand trailing along the banister. He hadn't done any research yet like he intended, but he was tired. Perhaps he could read just a little.

He went into the library and grabbed a few books from a shelf and sat at one of the tables under the skylight. He opened one. No, that wouldn't be helpful. He put an elbow on the table, face resting on his hand, and flicked through the pages of another book. His eyelids grew heavy, and it wasn't much longer before he was asleep, his head resting on the pages of his current book. His research would have to wait until tomorrow.

* * *

Gol opened his eyes in response to a noise, a cough. People were waking him up a lot lately. But, it couldn't be that bothersome Kassra this time. He lifted his head to see Maia sitting across from him, hands clasped together on the tabletop, feigning innocence.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

She blinked at him. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

"You know very well that you did."

She got up and walked to one of the bookcases, tracing the spine of one book with a fingertip. "I would never." She looked back, smiling. "I know how old people need their rest."

"Old? You're the same age as I am!" This fact seemed to be disputed when he tried to sit up straighter, an action hindered by the hunch in his upper back.

"But, my poor dear brother, you know as well as I that the Dark Eco made _me_ younger, while you, well…"

He sniffed. She was right. While Gol had been most careful with the experiments on his dear sister, he had been a bit too reckless in those performed on himself, and his body hadn't fared well as a result. The Dark Eco had strengthened him just as it did with Maia, and it had restored his failing vision and healed his arthritis, but it had also aged him. Dark Eco was a contradictory, fickle thing. It was fortunate the experiments on Maia didn't yield the same results, or she would have killed him.

"Find anything interesting?" she asked.

"No, not yet." No need to tell her he had fallen asleep before he had gotten a chance to.

"I'd help, but you know how I hate reading. I don't know how you stand it," Maia said.

"I don't know how you stand your lotions and picking out shoes."

"I have to keep looking beautiful."

"You look lovely enough without all that nonsense."

Maia came back and kissed him on the cheek. "You're sweet. And absolutely correct." She then sat in a chair nearby and crossed her legs. "So, we now have access to all the Dark Eco we could ever hope for. What do you plan to do about it?" She laughed and added, "I don't suppose a bunch of buckets would cut it." Her grin grew wider. "Or a bunch of bowls and soup ladles."

Gol smiled at the reminder of their childhood adventure. "You still remember that?"

"How could I forget? You looked positively ridiculous in mother's dish gloves!" Maia leaned forward, crossing her arms on the table. "Our parents were furious. They were a pair of morons if there ever was one. If they could see us now, they'd die on the spot!" She sighed. "It's hard to believe such idiots could be our parents. Sometimes, I think we must have been adopted."

He crossed his arms and shook his head. "If only we were so lucky. No, they were simply fools, just like everyone else. It's a shame they won't be around to see us recreate the world. They could have seen how beautiful Dark Eco really is."

"They don't deserve to witness our new, perfect world. None of those idiots do, but I suppose we can't kill everyone."

"No, I suppose we can't," Gol said. How can they prove they were right, otherwise?

Maia stretched her arms over her head. "Well, you do your silly research, and I'll see what I can figure out about getting that Dark Eco out of those tunnels." She stood. "See you later. Have fun with your boring books."

He nodded. "I intend to." The Sage went back to thumbing through the pages of his book, then took a short departure from his reading to daydream about how the world will be when everyone recognizes Dark Eco for the magnificent substance it is. He smiled at his musings, then, looked back down at the book. His dream wouldn't come to pass just thinking about it. Best he returned to his work. As Maia had pointed out, the methods devised by the minds of children would simply not cut it this time.

* * *

I'm finally getting the hang of Maia's dialogue. Gol's dialogue is easier to write. And yet Maia's movements and stuff are easier. Anyway, please read and review. They make me happy.


	9. Chapter 8: Forgetfulness

Gol and Maia begin the next phase of their plans, what to do about their new army. I find the latter half of this chapter particularly entertaining.

And I have been getting questions in the guest posts, and since I can't reply to them in the usual fashion, I will address them here. The questions boil down to, will our favorite wicked siblings cause more trouble and will they run into Jak (and other various characters)? The answer to number one is a resounding, does the farmer from "Jak 1" sleep a lot? The answer to number two, I will say that many characters from the series will show up later, along with a lot more action (more will certainly happen, even though I've been rather slow-paced in my story, but blame Gol, he's like 400 years old), so it is indeed a possibility…. (Okay, okay, how can I not include Jak? I mean, he's Jak.)

* * *

**Chapter 8: Forgetfulness**

Gol spent the rest of the day flipping through musty, old book after another, all the while doing more than his fair share of sneezing from the dust. He had managed to find some useful things, including the new layout of the land. Much of the places he had known had been swallowed up by that blasted Wasteland. That's certainly something they'd have to change when they covered the planet in Dark Eco. He wouldn't tolerate such ugliness in their new world.

He also learned more about Haven City and Spargus. Apparently Spargus had nothing but a wall around it, a single turret by the sea, and its armed, but no doubt simple-minded, citizens to defend it. As he had found when perusing Kassra's books, Haven City was the greater threat. They had found more ways of using Eco, including more advanced vehicles and weaponry, in addition to a "shield wall". If they planned on forming a new army, they'd have to do something about that. And speaking of an army, it appeared the Lurkers of this era had decided to make peace with humans, so using them again was not likely an option. There was also the Metal Heads, or as he was more familiar with, the Hora-Quan. That was a possibility, though they commonly had a fellow Metal Head to lead them. What they needed was an army that would have allegiance only to them. Or if they couldn't find one, perhaps they could create one instead.

Gol closed his most recent book. That would be satisfactory for now. He put his reading materials back where they belonged and headed out in search of his sister. He found her sitting on a bench in his lab-to-be, looking out the large window. On a sturdy-looking table that dominated much of the room sat several large containers of Dark Eco, quite similar in appearance to the containers he had used long ago. Made of a reinforced glass, they were not quite as well-suited to containing Dark Eco as Precursor metal, as they would eventually corrode, but they were easier to obtain.

The Sage drew closer and observed the containers with no small amount of confusion. Where had Maia been while he was busy reading?

"I believe a 'thank you' would be an appropriate response." Gol looked up as his sister spoke, but she didn't turn her head. Her gaze was still directed outside.

He headed over to where she sat. As they were when he had entered the room, his footsteps were nearly silent, but it no longer surprised him that she could always hear him come in. It was a superhuman ability she had possessed since even before the Dark Eco had changed her. Sometimes he worried she'd gain an aptitude for hearing his thoughts, as well.

Gol sat beside her. Outside, all that could be seen was endless sand, broken only here and there by jagged mountains. They were at such a height, if he squinted enough, it was possible the ocean could be seen far off.

"Where'd you find it?" he asked.

"I'm resourceful," Maia said. "As for the Dark Eco underground, we'll need an easy way of bringing it up to the surface."

"A pipeline. That's what we need, dear sister."

"Hmm, yes, I suppose that would work. We also need someone to build it for us. I'm certainly not going to risk getting lost down in those tunnels again. Plus, I've never been a fan of manual labor." She turned to him. "Which brings me to why I brought us that Dark Eco."

"And why is that?"

"You remember those creatures we were able to make, dear brother? Perhaps if we could do it again, we'd have ourselves a nice, little bunch of slaves."

He certainly did remember. They had even tried to use several of the things in their attempts to stop the boy and his pet from interfering as they opened the silo, but the kid had somehow made short work of their creations. They would need to be made stronger, and then they would serve them rather well as a new army. In fact, Gol had already decided on this arrangement hours earlier. Perhaps his sister _had_ learned to read his mind!

As he pondered over and hoped this wasn't so, he noticed she was gone. He looked back to see Maia standing by the table, fists on her hips. She looked over at him. "Well? This is _your_ area of expertise."

The Sage moved to join her by the containers and stroked his beard in thought. Now _how_ had he done it again? In response to the expression she was directing at him, he said, "Give me a moment."

"Don't tell me you've forgotten."

"Creating life is no easy task, dear sister."

She shook her head. "Becoming senile, are you?"

"Don't."

"Don't what?"

"Just don't."

She laughed. "No need to get surly with me. I'm only joking."

"Bring me some of each of the four main colors of Eco." He knew they had something to do with it.

"Really? Even Yellow? I'm certain we didn't use Yellow."

"Just do it!" He needed her out of here. He couldn't concentrate with her staring at him like that.

"Oh, fine!" She began to fly off. "But, don't expect me to hurry back!"

"Thank you, dear sister." He made the sarcasm in his voice quite obvious.

Maia snarled, and then she was gone. Gol went about finding paper and a pen. He found the latter, but had to tear out a page that didn't appear too cluttered from one of the more useless looking books he could find to make the former. (How could Maia remember to get pens, but not paper?) "The Joys of Yakow-Raising". What in the Precursors' name was that doing here?

He then pulled up a chair to the table in his lab and got to work, writing out all sorts of equations in an attempt to remember the formula for creating the creatures from the Dark Eco. It had been so long ago, and he had lost the countless notes he had spent decades writing. He had meant to make a book out of it, but had never gotten around to it. Now all that remained of his work was what was left in his memory and Maia's, and three hundred years had a way of making one forget.

He tore out page after page from that ridiculous book (What could possibly be so hard about raising yakows? Just feed and water the stupid things!), filling all the empty spaces up with notes and formulas and scribbled-out equations he knew were wrong. Crumpled papers began to pile up at the base of the chair, and then they started to appear farther from the Sage as he tossed his notes across the table, as if keeping them nearby would dampen his thought processes.

Many hours later, Gol had his head resting in both hands, surrounded by bunched up balls of paper and candles he had brought in to fend off the impending darkness of nightfall. It was quite a fire hazard, but at this point, he didn't really care. Even the front and back cover of the book had been covered in writing. Once Maia brought the Eco back, perhaps then he'd remember. Notes just weren't cutting it.

More time had passed, and Gol had gnawed his pen quite extensively as he racked his brain for the method he had used three centuries earlier. He had been positively elated when he had finally created a living, breathing creature from pure (well, mostly pure) Dark Eco. All he had managed to do prior to that was simply alter existing creatures. He had become quite adept at that, and it was at least one skill he had not yet forgotten. But, the formula he needed now was beyond his mind's grasp.

Gol clutched his chest to take a deep breath. Where in the blazes was Maia? She was certainly taking her sweet time! He stood up and marched out of the room, looking around. He looked down to see the Eco he needed, several containers of each, sitting on either side of the doorway. He glared at them, hands turning into fists, nails digging into the palm of his gloveless hand. How long had this been here, while he waited for her return?

He headed for the door to her room, now closed. She must be in there, sleeping no doubt. He raised a fist and pounded on the door.

"Maia!" No "dear sister" this time. It was far too late in the night for that. "Maia, you open up this—"

The door swung open, his sister glaring up at him, now several inches shorter without her heels on. She blew hair out of her face. She was wearing loose-fitting night clothes. And her teeth were bared. "Yes!"

"Where were you?" His voice was low.

"I did my job. And I assumed you were doing yours." Her crimson eyes were trying to burn holes through him, but he just stared back.

"You didn't tell me you were back. How many hours ago was that?"

"I didn't tell you to stay up."

They stared at each other, daring the other to blink. Gol, after more hours of no sleep, caved first. Maia made no indication she had noticed, but he knew she did. She must be feeling so smug about it, too. He turned and left. He could still feel his sister's gaze on his back until he turned the corner.

He went into his room and shut the door. He resisted slamming it, as he knew Maia would hear, and her satisfaction at having bothered him would only grow stronger. He got into bed, not bothering to change, not that he currently had anything to change into. He attempted to lie on his side, facing the wall, but it was rather difficult when also sitting upright. He thrashed around, finding it next to impossible to get comfortable. Either he was in a position not conducive to sleep, or he'd suffocate. He hated what the Dark Eco had done to his lungs. Perhaps it was his own fault for not listening to Maia's pleas to be more careful in his experiments, but that didn't make him feel any better right now. And she was probably happy to see the state the Dark Eco had put him in, while she became young and healthy again. He sighed. No, she wasn't happy about that. Likely relieved it wasn't her, which was understandable, but not happy about his decline in health.

He grew still for a while, trying to ignore the ache in his upper back. And his leg. It still hurt when he wasn't careful with it. He was sure Kassra hadn't set it right. As soon as he wasn't busy with more important matters, he'd see what he could do about healing himself. Surely there was a way the Dark Eco could reverse his current afflictions, even if it had caused several of them, but only due to his misuse of it.

Sleep did not come quickly for Gol, as he unwillingly focused on his aching body and was periodically brought from the verge of sleep to cough and gasp for air. Someday, things would be better.

* * *

You remember when you fight Gol and Maia in "Jak 1", and they shoot this green stuff into the Dark Eco, and these monsters pop out of the silo? That's what I had in mind. Plus, I thought that the two may have used more than simply Dark Eco. The robot does four main things, and each is the color of one of the four main colors of Eco, like the red balls that blow up and the blue laser. So that's why I assumed they must have used the different colors in addition to Dark Eco in their experiments. It's probably not even necessary to explain this, but yeah…. I over-think things.

And that fight was sure fun to write. Now _those_ are fight scenes I have no trouble with.


	10. Chapter 9: Lost and Found

Gol and Maia attempt to remember how to create the Dark Eco creatures again, so as you may guess, this chapter is filled with people engaged in science! I enjoyed writing the beginning of this chapter in particular….

* * *

**Chapter 9: Lost and Found**

Once again, Gol pondered what it was lately that everyone felt the need to wake him up. Not that anyone was touching him. And he didn't hear anything. But, something was on his bed.

"What is it now?" he asked the person who was surely behind him.

There was no answer.

"I know you're there," he continued. Why couldn't anyone leave him in peace! He was starting to consider finding a quiet cave in the middle of the Wasteland somewhere and staying there for a few days. Odds are, though, he'd manage to find some cave dwelling people that thought him great company, sour temperament and all. It didn't help his mood any when someone reached over him and pinched his bare arm.

"Ow, why…" He rolled onto his back just as his most recent stalker finally decided to speak.

"That's for waking me up," Maia said from where she sat on his bed. "And this…" She moved to do it again, and he grabbed her by the wrist, only to be pinched with her free hand.

"Stop it!"

"And that's for the attitude!"

He grabbed her other wrist, as well, in case she thought up a third way he had wronged her. "Isn't waking me up fair enough punishment?"

"You're usually awake by now anyway." She attempted to pull her arms free. "Let me go."

"No."

"Yes!"

"Promise me you'll stop assaulting me!" Not that her promises were worth a Lurker shark in the middle of the desert. She was always swearing she wouldn't do something, and then she'd find a loophole in her promise and do it again. And he always fell for it.

"Promise. And I'll have you know, I'm not above biting."

He was aware of that, and more for that reason than the promise, he let go. She rubbed her wrists for a moment, then, leaned towards him. He attempted to fend off her next attack, but all she did was kiss him on the forehead.

"Good boy." She stood up and looked down at him. "Don't we have some work that needs to get done?"

Gol sighed. "Yes, I suppose so." He was still positively exhausted from last night, and his aches hadn't gone away. And now two bruises were forming on his arm.

"What's the matter? You don't look so well, dear brother."

"It's nothing," he said, as he forced himself out of bed, rubbing his eyes.

"Come on, then," she said and headed towards the door. Gol followed her out into the hallway at a slower pace, smoothing the knots out of his hair.

As they entered the lab, the Sage noticed all the containers of Eco from the night before had been placed on the table and the paper and candles cleared away. Maia gestured to it all. "Is _this_ to your liking, dear brother?"

He suppressed a yawn. He'd really need to go to bed much earlier tonight, but with his obsessive tendencies, it was unlikely. There was work to be done, and he would just as soon dance a jig as quit before finding the correct procedure. Well, not literally.

Gol smiled. "Much better, dear sister."

Maia brought papers for him to write on (apparently, she _had _gotten some, she just didn't put them in a reasonable place, even though she claimed she most certainly had, and he had simply not looked hard enough), and they got right to work, just like old times, his aches and his weariness forgotten now that he had beakers and papers back in his hands again. Now that he could actually try out different combinations for himself, the memories started to trickle back into his mind like water from a dam that had developed a leak. Soon he'd have it. He could feel it.

They tried adding different kinds of Eco together, with Dark Eco comprising the majority of it. Green Eco, the Eco of life, was certainly part of it. And Blue, the Eco of movement. He just didn't remember how much. Maia had been right about Yellow, as it never seemed to have any desirable effects. As for Red, he just couldn't remember either way.

The hours passed by, and they drew nearer and nearer to the correct formula, but nothing was working quite as they remembered. Most of what they tried resulted in nothing whatsoever. Once did their concoction billow up in a frothy mass, from which Maia had stepped away from with no small amount of finesse to avoid getting any on her shoes. Another time, they created a thick smoke that nearly threatened to smother them both until his sister had forced open the old windows, which had been almost hopelessly fused closed with age. It wasn't until evening that Gol finally came up with an idea that had to work. He mixed the various forms of Eco together, and then they leaned over the large beaker. Maia appeared to be holding her breath. He would, too, if he had possessed the lung capacity.

They stared as something bubbled up and leaned in closer. A shape started to form, part of a claw.

"We did it, dear brother, we…" Maia started, and then the claw melted back into the Eco. "Ah, so close!"

They tried several more times, but each time, the creature would dissolve back after only a few seconds of life. Something had to be off. Just a little. But, what were they missing?

The sun was going down, and the siblings had retired to the bench by the window, warm air blowing in. Gol stared at the table and the worrisome level of Dark Eco left in the remaining containers. He had to figure out what he was doing wrong. He couldn't afford to waste much more. Well, he supposed he could ask Maia to find more, but not so soon after that last incident.

Maia put her arm around him and leaned in close to him. "Don't worry, dear brother. I'm sure you'll get it soon."

"I just can't remember what we did, dear sister. It was so long ago, I fear I've forgotten all we've worked for." He sighed. "If only I still had my notes."

"You'll figure it out." She kissed him on the side of the head.

"I don't know about that."

She kissed him again. "Don't argue."

Gol put his arm around his sister, and they sat in silence. Blast that boy and his rat! They had studied Dark Eco for decades, and they had become the most knowledgeable people in history on the subject. They likely still were, if Dark Eco retained the stigma it held in their day. To have so many years of knowledge wiped away because of one wrong move on one fateful day.

He looked up as Maia stood. "I have a few errands to run."

He stood, as well. "Where are you going? I still need your help."

She winked at him, a most mysterious look on her face. "You'll find out soon enough. Take a break."

"We're not finished yet, dear sister." Was everyone going insane lately?

She kissed him again. "Do as you're told." She wiggled the fingers of one hand in farewell as she left. "Bye bye."

He shook his head. What had gotten into her? Gol walked over to the table and stared at the mess of notes and beakers and other equipment, along with the containers of their failed experiments and remaining Eco. There was just one detail he had forgotten. He knew there was, but what could it possibly be?

He formed his notes into a pile and picked them up, looking them over. He scratched his chin. He couldn't, for the life of him, tell where he had gone wrong. And now he was left to figure it out himself while Maia did whatever it was she was up to. He dropped the notes back on the table and wandered out of the room, arms crossed. The sun had since disappeared over the horizon, and it got rather cold at night. He shivered and went into the library. Not much chance one of the books here would hold the answer he sought, but he looked over them anyway. Maybe there was something that would jog his memory.

Gol started pulling books out of the shelves, anything that had to do with Eco. There were no books discussing the merits of Dark Eco. Only on the four main colors, theories on Light Eco (which was, as far as he was concerned, the most vile substance to ever exist), and books on why Dark Eco was evil. These books on the last topic he collected and threw into the fires in the other room. They weren't going to poison any other minds. When he had the time, he'd rewrite all his notes and publish them. Then, people could know the truth. Not that they would care to.

He then returned to skimming through the books, but none contained any information that would help him. Just like with Dark Eco, people seemed to have some sort of problem with the topic of creating life. Sure, you could grow plants with Green Eco, but apparently it was frowned upon to make any other form of life. If life was so precious, what was so wrong about making it? He slammed his last book shut and left the room. As little as he could stand leaving work unfinished, he wouldn't get it done any faster sitting around. He returned to his room and went to bed.

* * *

Gol woke up the next morning, body tense. He stayed absolutely still, anticipating some newly thought up method of bothering him. But, nothing happened. Not only was the room silent, but there wasn't anything touching him, either. What kind of joke was this? He jumped out of bed and looked all around, but there was indeed no one around to pester him. Maia had gotten back safely, hadn't she?

He went out into the hallway and headed to Maia's room, but upon closer inspection (the door was left open, otherwise he wouldn't have gone in, even though she didn't give him the same courtesy), she wasn't there. He checked the lab, and that room, too, was unoccupied. Perhaps the library, even though Maia didn't have the best relationship with books, for whatever reason. She must have spent too much time thinking about boys when she was young to cultivate a love of reading.

To his surprise, his last guess turned out to be correct. She was sitting at a table, going over a pile of loose papers in her hands. He hadn't realized he had written so much yesterday.

"I've gone over them, as well, and I couldn't find where we went wrong, dear sister," the Sage said as he entered the room.

"You didn't go over _these_ notes, dear brother," she replied, not looking up. But, he did notice a smile forming on her face.

He sat in a chair nearby and watched her. Was it just him or did those papers appear much too old to have been written recently? She glanced over at him without moving her head.

"Yes, do you need something, dear brother?" The smile grew bigger.

"Where did you get those?"

"Where does one usually find paper," she said, laying them down flat on the table, "containing years of research on Dark Eco?"

His eyes widened. He recognized those. Pages and pages of writing and equations and diagrams. They were now in rough condition, but he remembered them.

"My notes," he said.

"Are you really that slow, dear brother? I would have thought you'd recognize—" Before she could finish, he had closed the space between them and held her tight.

"Thank you."

"No need to get emotional."

He wasn't getting emotional. Not at all. He just thought they were long gone. That was all.

Seeing as she wasn't getting free anytime soon, Maia hugged him back and continued. "As you can imagine, I found our old citadel. Shame we couldn't have gone back, but I suppose it's too late now, and it would be the first place people would look for us, wouldn't it? Anyway, even though sand had blown in and animals had made a mess of the place, I managed to find your notes. I think some are missing, but…"

"It doesn't matter. The fact that you found any at all… I had no idea."

"Of course, you didn't. You're clueless. You always are."

There was silence, and he held her longer. He never would have expected she'd find them for him. All that work. It wasn't lost, after all. All thanks to her and her cryptic behavior the other evening. He really was clueless.

"Brother…"

With a bit of review, he would have all his knowledge back. Or at least, most of it. He wouldn't have to waste time repeating his work, and he could finally figure out what he had done wrong with his experiment.

"Brother."

He let go of her, and she went about smoothing her hair back into the condition it had been in before he had messed with it. "While you were busy sleeping, I also found where we've gone amiss." Hair now perfect, she slid the papers around on the table until she found the correct one, then handed it to him. She gave the paper a poke with one finger. "There."

He looked over the equations and percentages his sister had pointed out. He could slap himself. It was that simple?

Maia smiled at the look on his face. "I know, we're stupid, aren't we?"

How could he forget a little thing like that? "Come, dear sister, we must correct this mistake right away."

They headed back to the lab and proceeded to mix the Eco in accordance with his long-lost notes. If this didn't work, he was indeed stupid. No, he was an absolute idiot.

Once again, they leaned over the beaker, Maia gripping the edge of the table with both hands. Gol jumped as she spoke, "Come on, already!"

After that sudden exclamation didn't prompt any response from the liquid, they said nothing more, as if they were now trying to see if silence was a key factor in what they were trying to do. The Sage glared at it, willing something to happen. It bubbled, and then it began to take form. The Eco rose up in a hump, and they both leaned in closer as it formed arms and legs and finally a snarling, toothy face. The creature hissed and spat at them, attempting to bite at and climb up the glass walls of the beaker. It was a small thing, but now that they had the formula worked out, all they'd need was more Eco, and they could create much larger creatures better suited to their purposes.

Maia giggled like a young girl getting a first look at her new pet kitten. "It worked, we did it!" She gave it a scratch on the head, throwing it into a fit of rage. She withdrew her hand just before it could attempt to devour it.

"What a feisty thing! Can I keep it, dear brother?"

"You don't need to ask me," Gol said. These things would need some training, that's for sure, plus he'd need to look into making some modifications, but once that was all set, it was only a matter of time before they'd have access to all the Dark Eco in the Catacombs.

"Time to make some more?" Maia asked, as she watched her new pet thrash around within the confines of the beaker.

"You've read my mind, dear sister."

* * *

I write about Gol's sleeping habits quite a bit, don't I? Hmm. Anyway, please read and review.


	11. Chapter 10: Regrets

Gol reminisces once again, as he is a, well, reminisce-er. This likely completes the main descriptions of their past, though I may think of more details to add later. And their little beasties get to work. Go, little beasties, go!

* * *

**Chapter 10: Regrets**

The next several months were rather busy for the Acheron twins. Maia went about in search of any Dark Eco she could find to tide them over until the pipeline was finished, in addition to the much more common variants of Eco, while Gol worked on creating more of the creatures. As he got the hang of the process again, he worked on modifying the creatures, increasing their strength, intelligence, and obedience. Many of the early versions were much too wild and vicious to make any use of. Their violent behavior was welcome, but not if they were just as likely to attack their masters as their enemies. These creatures were destroyed, the Dark Eco from their bodies to be repurposed into more desirable servants.

After the creatures were to their liking, passing all the tests the siblings had devised for them (including fetching various objects for Maia, which Gol believed to be more for her own amusement than anything else), they sent the first group out into the desert, about twenty of the things, along with segments of the pipeline to be constructed between their citadel and the Catacombs. These pieces they had created from various scraps Maia had managed to find out in the Wasteland or even from their old citadel. (It truly was a shame they hadn't known about its location before they had put work into its replacement. Their original citadel was certainly more impressive.) And they would certainly need more. It was going to be a very long pipe. As the creatures toiled away in the heat of the Wasteland, the siblings worked to automate the creation of their army with yet more bits and pieces they had found, anything that could be assembled into machinery. Many months went by, and the old temple became a factory of sorts. This left the two to spend their time on more important matters.

Gol sat in his lab, now a bit empty after having much of its previous purpose outsourced elsewhere. He had continued his research to either improve upon the work in his old notes or to restore what Maia couldn't find. Right now, however, he wasn't doing much else but thinking. Some time had passed since they escaped from the silo. Nearly a year, perhaps, give or take a few months. It was hard to keep track of time out in the middle of nowhere like this, especially when time was not divided so much into days as fluctuating increments of work and sleep. "Sage Time", he called it. It was a common trait of Eco Sages to work themselves to exhaustion, then, get right back to work as soon as they had recovered enough. About the only thing he had in common with those other foolish Sages.

He remembered how, since he was young, he would sometimes stay up for days at a time researching Dark Eco until Maia was finally able to force him to rest. But, there was always so much to do. Dark Eco was an infinitely mysterious substance, and it almost seemed like the more he learned, the less he knew. Someone had to study it, though, and if no one else would, he had to.

Gol closed his eyes. That was so long ago, back when they had lived in that quiet, little village, the one they had stayed in until the Dark Eco had opened their eyes to what they had to do. When they were young, in their mid 20's, they had moved from their village just northwest of Rock Village to one farther north, in the wooded foothills of Snowy Mountain. In the place where they had grown up, as all villages were back then, it wasn't easy to avoid people, and he found himself running into his parents even after his sister and he had moved into their own place. This always led to no small amount of awkwardness. Eventually, they decided it was time to go elsewhere and leave their parents behind, in addition to all the other fools who viewed them with distrust.

In this new town, they had hidden their association with Dark Eco, not out of shame, but for their own protection (the treatment Gol received was one thing, but he wouldn't allow anyone to bother Maia anymore because of him). After some time, though, it became impossible to hide any longer, once Gol became the Dark Sage and their skin began to pale. When the villagers had found out that they had a dreaded Dark Eco Sage living amongst them, they had crowded around their home in an effort to run them out of town. Maia, having a much more delicate disposition back then, had stayed indoors, while a rather livid Gol had gone outside to tell them they were by no means going anywhere.

After he stood his ground and reminded the people that his sister and he had never done anything to harm them and never would (well, he didn't know at the time that he'd change his mind), they finally settled down and returned to their homes. Not that they were happy about the siblings' presence, but none of them had the courage to carry out their threats.

He remembered that when he had gone back inside, Maia had been crying. "Why does everyone hate us?" she had asked. "It's the same, no matter where we go." It certainly appeared that way, and he had no answer to her question. At least, not one that would have been very comforting.

Gol was most grateful that the Dark Eco had since helped his dear sister to cease caring about what those fools thought of them. It was the only solace that he got, knowing that his choice to study Dark Eco had caused his sister so much grief. He never thought such a decision would cause so much trouble for her, even though on hindsight, he should have. At one point, he almost gave up on his research to spare her anymore harassment, but she had told him quite firmly not to quit because of them.

The Sage looked down to see he had snapped his pen in half. He dropped the two pieces on the table. The worst was over now. The Dark Eco had blessed them much more than it had harmed them, and the harm was only due to the misconceptions of others. And now, it wouldn't be much longer before a new age began. People would no longer fear those who studied Dark Eco, and his sister and he would be recognized for the superior beings they were. The world would be far better, then. People would fight the transition, of that he was certain, but they would thank him when it was over, and the two of them would be worshipped as the people who had made the world perfect.

But, was limitless Dark Eco and an army enough, he wondered. This was their second chance, and it wasn't likely they would get another. He always liked to make a point out of being over-prepared, and there were far more people in the world now to get in their way, equipped with technology superior to what they had centuries ago. Perhaps a little more was necessary to ensure their victory. Before he could ponder over this any longer, he heard footsteps. He looked up to see Maia walking into the room. Unless he was mistaken, he was sure he saw the sheen of perspiration on her forehead. He chuckled inwardly. He would really be in for it if he mentioned that.

She wiped her brow with one forearm (by the Precursors, it was true, his sister did indeed sweat!). "Must be nice to stay where it's comfortable while I'm out working."

Before he could refute this, he realized she was right. "But, I thought I was the more decrepit of the two of us, dear sister." There, how could she argue with that?

She snorted. "I suppose you have a point." She came to his side of the room and sat on the table.

"You really mustn't do that."

She stuck out her tongue. "Deal with it." She looked down at the broken pen lying in front of him. "And what did that do to anger you?"

He shrugged.

"Well, I've gotten us some more Eco for the machines. It's rather tiring. We should switch jobs."

That was true, but as he thought back to what had been most recently occupying his thoughts, his reply came out as, "I've missed you, dear sister."

"Sucking up isn't going to help you."

"That's not what I mean."

"I wasn't really gone that long."

"I know."

He really hadn't meant to cause her the pain he had. The rejection of their parents. And the way people treated them. And their time in the silo. He could only hope she didn't blame him for any of it. If she had, wouldn't she have made it known, though? She normally was more than happy to point out his errors.

She stared at him with a confused look on her face for a moment longer, then, shook her head. "Well, you really must see how the pipeline's coming along."

"Is it nearly finished, dear sister?"

She stood up. "Why don't you see for yourself? Come, dear brother."

She grabbed his hand as he stood and teleported them both out into the Wasteland. As they floated there, he saw the end of the pipeline below, with the creatures toiling away on it. In one direction, the pipeline meandered off into the distance, with countless creatures marching alongside it, bringing in new parts for the pipe, and in the other, he could see the ragged hole in the mountains that was no doubt the entrance to the Catacombs.

"Not a horribly long distance to go, dear brother," Maia said.

"It certainly isn't, dear sister." Gol pulled her closer with one arm and gave her a kiss on the side of the head.

She struggled free. "What's gotten into you?"

"I'm sorry. Am I no longer allowed to show affection to my dear sister?"

"You've just been dreadfully corny lately, that's all."

He snorted. No, he hasn't. Has he?

After a moment longer of observing the progress on the pipe, Gol said, "Let's get out of this heat."

"That's what I've been wanting to do, but I keep getting stuck with the outside work."

"You brought us out here this time."

"Be quiet." Despite the grin on her face, she gave him a shove, and then disappeared. Maia was a violent thing lately. Which was fine, but only when she didn't direct it at him. Gol disappeared, as well, returning to the relative comfort of the citadel, while the Dark Eco creatures continued their work. Soon, all of the world's Dark Eco would be under their control.

* * *

I almost typed a certain quote from the "Jak 1" final boss battle right there at the end, but I did not. I hope this chapter was entertaining. Please read and review. And something much different from previous chapters is coming up…. Be excited. Be very excited.


	12. Chapter 11: Haven City

The first chapter with Jak and Daxter. Some spoilers for the ending of "Jak 3" and "The Lost Frontier" ahead, so beware. And imagine Jak with his "Jak 3" appearance again because I like it better. He needs some facial hair. He looked odd without it in "The Lost Frontier".

* * *

**Chapter 11: Haven City**

A blocky, blue transport swooped down over the bustling port of Haven City. It was a wonder such a thing managed to fly, as its largely rectangular shape didn't seem conducive to actions of that sort, but it did well enough. It stopped at a large, circular walkway, at the center of which stood one of two squat towers, and lowered the back door, which doubled as a walkway for disembarking passengers. Out stepped a most peculiar pair.

A young man, likely in his early 20's, with a pensive look that said he had seen much more in his young life than most ever would, sporting a green goatee and green hair that melted into blonde. Even more peculiar was the creature perched atop his left shoulder, an orange animal reminiscent of a weasel, but not quite, wearing blue pants and goggles, leaning casually against the side of the man's head.

The creature stretched and yawned in an exaggerated fashion. "I'm pooped, Jak. Let's say we stop on by the Naughty Ottsel, then, call it a night."

The man grinned, reminding any who had forgotten that he was still indeed young. "Sure thing, Dax."

Jak and Daxter headed along the walkway built out over the port, the sun reflecting off the water as it started to sink over the western horizon, preparing itself to bring daylight to a whole new section of the world. Jak scanned the city ahead. No signs of trouble. For once. Like Jak, Haven City had encountered more than its fair share of misfortune, but the last battle fought here was now several years in the past, giving people time to recover. And perhaps even forget. But, Jak didn't forget, or Daxter, or any of their other allies that had fought on the frontlines, for that matter.

He still remembered his first span of time spent in the city, the skyline had been overpowered by the most imposing structure, the palace of the tyrant Baron Praxis. When it had been knocked down, it had destroyed half the city, but now that the city was restored to better than what it was before, it was a relief to see that place gone. Like a large omen had been hovering over them and was finally knocked out of the sky. Perhaps there was a chance for peace now. Soldiers in blue armor still patrolled the streets, but for the purpose of just that, patrolling, and nothing more. There was no longer any need for the guns they carried, and Jak hoped there wouldn't be for a long time.

They arrived in front of the Naughty Ottsel, a large (and tacky, but Jak would never say it) statue of the bar's owner standing above the doorway with devil horns, a pitchfork, and a devious grin (even though anyone who had known the ottsel for an extended period of time would have said the extra adornments were redundant).

"Time to see my lady," Daxter said, nearly taking on the look of the statue over the door.

When they walked in, they (well, Daxter, to be more precise) were greeted by a squeal. Tess (who had since gotten used to her new ottsel form after being turned into one by the Precursors themselves several years prior) was standing on the counter, her arms stretched out in front of her, hopping with joy.

"My Daxie-poo, oh, I missed you!"

When they reached the counter, Daxter jumped down to join her. "Missed you, too, my sugar plum."

Tess giggled (doing nothing to dispel the long-held stereotypes of those with blonde hair) and wrapped her arms around Daxter, pulling him close and giving him a big kiss, which he was more than happy to reciprocate.

Sitting at one of the barstools nearby was a gruff looking man with red hair and a large tattoo adorning his face. "Does this still creep you out, too?" Torn asked, in a voice rough enough to match his face.

Jak glanced at the two ottsels only a second more before looking away. "Yeah."

Torn took a large drink from his glass. "So, I hear you two've been out exploring the Brink again? How was it?" The man let out half a laugh, knowing full well how rough a place it was.

"Oh, you know, the usual. Plenty of sky pirates, like before, and we cleaned up more of those Dark Eco monsters and defective robots that were still on the loose. There was no shortage of things trying to kill us, just like you'd expect." Jak leaned his back against the counter, elbows resting on it, as much for comfort as for the purpose of facing away from the giggling, smooching ottsels.

"I see. And you showed 'em what for, I'm guessing."

Jak nodded.

"That's good. No thanks to the fleabag, I bet."

Daxter wasn't as oblivious to their conversation as the two men had believed. He looked back, clearly outraged. "Hey, tattooed-wonder, I don't see you doin' nothin'! While you were busy drinkin' all my liquor and bein' grumpy, I was fighting off all kinds of monsters! Wasn't I, Jak?"

"Well…"

"Ya see! Not that I was keepin' count or nothin', but I think I killed more goons than Jak did."

"Oh, I bet you did!" Tess said. "You must've been so brave!"

"I was, I really was." Daxter gave her a kiss on the nose, throwing her into another fit of giggling, then, continued. "Jak couldn't have done it without me. I had to rescue him more times than I care to say. Poor guy. He's hopeless. But, I forgive him for it."

Jak frowned at the ottsel, who was once again preoccupied with other things, before turning back to Torn.

"Well, I hate to admit it, but he's right," Torn said.

"What?" Jak asked, dumbfounded.

"About me not doing anything, I mean." He drank from his glass and wiped his mouth with the back of one hand. "Not much has been going on here. Not that I'm complaining, but while you two have been off adventuring, about the most excitement we got here was when a couple of Metal Heads snuck in through one of the city gates. Peace is great and everything, but I guess it just takes some getting used to, if you know what I'm sayin'."

Jak did. That's likely why Daxter and he went out to the Brink again, even after dealing with the problem with Skyheed. He would just get too bored living a normal life, he supposed. It wasn't that he enjoyed trouble. He was just drawn to it. Maybe he _did_ enjoy it.

Torn finished his drink and slammed the glass down. "I guess I better be going." He got up. "I'll be seeing you two around."

Jak watched as the man left, then, turned to Daxter. "We should be leaving, too, Dax. Dax?"

"What?" The ottsel looked back, Tess still in his arms. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"That's fine. Guess I'll just go home alone, then," Jak said, starting to head for the exit.

"Hey, wait up!" Daxter gave Tess one quick kiss on the cheek. "See ya later, sweet cheeks."

Tess kissed him back. "Bye bye, poopsie!"

"I am your poopsie."

"Yes, you are."

Daxter heard the door close. He jumped off the counter and ran for the door, screaming bloody murder. "Jak, come on! Don't make me walk all the way back! I'll get bunions, and I just put moisturizer on my paws!"

Finally, the ottsel caught up with his companion and clambered back up onto the man's shoulder. The sun had already gone down, and the two headed home. Some people still roamed the streets, but there was much more room to move around, while the occasional zoomer sped past above their heads.

People didn't have to fear so much anymore, even at this hour. The Freedom League had greatly reduced the number of muggings, and the random brutality of the Krimzon Guards was no longer an issue. Even the Metal Heads had since largely given up in their attempts to invade the city. Finally, Haven City was living up to its name.

* * *

But, for how long?

I find Torn rather difficult to write for. Jak, too, but not as difficult as Torn. Hopefully I did okay. Daxter and Tess are pretty easy, though. Please review.


	13. Chapter 12: The End of a Long Wait

Sorry for the one day delay. My schedule has changed, so I will be submitting new chapters every Monday now. Anyway, back to the naughtiest of siblings, while they near the completion of phase one of their 300 year goal.

* * *

**Chapter 12: The End of a Long Wait**

The pipeline had finally reached the entrance to the Catacombs, and now the tricky part began, getting the creatures to successfully navigate the tunnels and make their way to the Dark Eco canal. It was hard enough for the siblings to get out, so how would their servants manage? Try as he may to improve their intelligence, he still could never elevate them above the rank of imbecile.

They sent in the first group to scout around, but they never returned. The next several groups fared no better. Such an approach was obviously not working, so Gol set about devising another method. In fact, Gol had already planned ahead for the first leg of the journey. While these creatures, consisting largely of Dark Eco, should be naturally attuned to the presence of the substance they were composed of (Gol himself had developed a kind of sixth sense for detecting Dark Eco, and he was sure Maia had, as well), that ability was useless at great distances. So long before the construction of the pipe had ever commenced, he had enhanced this aspect of the creatures to guarantee half the trip. But even after so much time had passed, he had never been able to come up with an idea for the return journey.

After much thought and a little bit of trepidation, Gol did eventually voice to Maia some kind of plan involving a trail, even though she had pointed out how similar this was to a fairytale they had read as children. This particular story revolved around a flut flut chick who, after finding itself on a most unlikely quest to retrieve a magic egg from a treacherous forest, had managed to make its way there and back again by leaving a trail of berries in its wake (which were unrealistically abundant in this particular forest, even though Gol and his sister had hardly ever found any during their time in the woods as children, aside from the poisonous ones Maia had gotten sick on). But, that was the only idea he could think of, and his sister didn't offer any solutions of her own. She only proceeded to taunt him with the name "Flutlette" after the chick in the story for a week straight before growing bored. Honestly, she still retained the same verbal endurance she had as a child.

Despite the mocking directed at him, the Sage instructed the creatures to leave a trail of sand and pebbles as they travelled into the Catacombs to lead them back. And Maia could snigger all she liked, this was the one method that worked. As he had hoped, the creatures did indeed find their way back, and the work on the pipeline continued once again. They were so close, but Gol still felt something was missing.

The answer to his newest quandary came not in the form of a fairytale from his youth, but in a scrap one of the creatures had carried back with it. Many weeks later, Maia had found one of their servants wandering a section of the Wasteland it had no business being in. They could only figure it was one of the creatures that had gotten lost in the Catacombs and had managed to come out a different exit. And for whatever reason, it was dragging the remains of what appeared to be a Precursor robot arm behind it. It was from a robot smaller in size to the one they had used centuries ago, but it gave Gol an idea. He pondered in his lab for a while on the feasibility of this plan, drawing diagrams and writing notes, until he decided this might be the last preparation they needed.

Thoroughly satisfied, he headed out of his lab and followed the sound of Maia's voice to her room. He found her talking to her pet, which she had affectionately dubbed Teeth, now residing in a larger container. The container was sitting on an old, wooden table she had placed in the room, not unlike all the other furniture that resided in their citadel. Next to her pet's cage were candles and a medium-sized oval mirror, also with a wooden, simply carved frame, propped against the wall, no doubt for fixing up her cascade of locks. (Why did women need to constantly look at themselves anyway? She knew what she looked like, didn't she?) Her room was a sparsely decorated one, just as his was (not that they currently had the time for such pointless endeavors anyway), though he remembered a time when she had a multitude of plants and uselessly small pillows and dainty figurines. How truly frivolous she once was. And yet, sometimes he missed it.

He knocked on the open door, and she looked up from the creature that was currently trying with all of its might to escape its cage and gnaw on her. "Finally taking some time from your work to spare your dear sister a visit I see, my dear Flutlette," she said.

He frowned at her. "I thought you were over that."

Pet currently forgotten, she came closer to him in lazy steps, hands behind her back. "Not entirely, no."

"Anyway, the reason I came in here, dear sister, was to tell you of a new idea I have. But, I suppose if you'd rather make fun of me, I can return later." He turned to leave, and she appeared in front of him in a puff of purple.

"I don't think so."

"Then what do you say?"

She tilted her head to the side. "Please?"

"No."

Her head went to the other side, face scrunched up in confusion. "I don't follow."

"You should, dear sister."

"Please," she paused, as if considering teasing him again, before finishing with, "dear brother."

"Very good."

"So what is it?"

"Intrigued, are we?"

"Stop procrastinating and tell me!" Maia put her hands on her hips, a stern look on her face.

"Excuse me."

She stepped aside as he walked by, then, followed close behind as they headed towards the lab.

"I know we've tried it before, but I was thinking we could use something along the lines of another Precursor robot, dear sister."

She laughed. "Are you joking? We already tried that and look where it got us. The flimsy thing got destroyed by a little boy."

"I'm well aware of that, but I feel we're going to need more than just a bunch of mindless creatures if we plan to crush any resistance against us. We could use something more powerful, and if our servants can retrieve the rest of the robot, I can make it into something better." They arrived at the table in his lab, where he handed Maia one of his diagrams. She looked over it, eyebrows raised.

"What do you think, dear sister?"

"Not bad. You're going to make absolute sure it can't be destroyed by a simple boy this time, correct?" she asked as she handed the diagrams back to him.

"Don't you worry about that, dear sister."

"All right. As long as we're not humiliated again this time."

Of course not, he wasn't stupid. He would not allow them to fail again. Clearly their last robot wasn't as powerful as it could have been if a mere boy could destroy it, even with the aid of that vile Light Eco. This time would be different. He knew better.

As Maia sent out a group of the creatures to bring back what remained of the robot (hopefully there was more left than just a battered arm), Gol continued on with his own preparations. He worked more on his notes, drawing different models of weaponry and armor and whatever else they might need. Never would he have thought he'd spend time designing such things. Him, an Eco Sage, whose usual goal was the simple quest for knowledge. But, the world's stubborn insistence to believe his research was wrong had forced his hand, and so he really had no other choice left to him. Sometimes, you simply had to do things you weren't normally accustomed to.

Over the next several weeks, scraps of the Precursor robot started to pile up in their citadel (along with bits of random rubbish the creatures also decided to bring along, the stupid things). He had managed to find a much larger room in the old temple that would be better suited for constructing something of this scale. It was unfortunate this robot was smaller than the previous one, but he supposed it was a smaller target.

The Sage got to work putting the robot back together, while tasking Maia with finding the needed supplies for him. This caused no small amount of grumbling from her, but he just ignored it. Just wait until the robot crushed Spargus and Haven City, and she wouldn't be grumbling then.

Several weeks in, when the robot had taken on its desired form (but still lacking in its previous splendor, as it was still in abominable condition), Gol was startled by his sister (well, not startled exactly, he just didn't expect her) entering the room at a surprising speed. She flew up to join him where he hovered next to the robot's head, trying to repair some severed wires. What could have possibly put the robot in such a state?

"Dear brother, it's finished!" She sped around him in an excited circle.

"Stop it, you're making me dizzy!" he said.

"Did you hear me?" She stopped in front of him.

"The pipeline's finished, dear sister?"

"That's what I said."

"It isn't, really."

She paused to think over their conversation from the last minute, then continued, "Well, it's pretty obvious what I meant, isn't it? Now all we must do is turn it on."

She was off again, at such a speed he half wondered if she was going to ram into the wall like a bird. He followed her out of the room and through several more passageways. It was fortunate she remembered her way around because he sure didn't. There was no way he would ever tell her, though, the extent to which he had gotten lost just the other day, trying to find his way back to his room. Perhaps that was only due to sleep deprivation, though, as he _had_ been working on the robot for several days straight. Yes, that was it.

Finally, they met up with the pipe and followed it to the top of a stairway leading down into a cavernous set of rooms even deeper within the temple. He had yet to figure out what the previous occupants needed such a large temple for, but it worked well enough for them. It was still most curious, though.

"Who gets to do the honors?" Maia asked.

"Seeing as you continuously claim to have been working harder than me, not that I agree, I suppose it should be you," Gol said.

She nodded, grinning widely. "You make a good point, my lazy brother." She put her hand on the lever built into the top of the pipe. "Ready?"

Before he had a chance to answer this unnecessary question, she pulled it down, and the pipe hummed to life. She moved to stand beside him, and they watched. After several minutes of this, she was tapping one foot.

"Come on, how long does it take?" she said.

"Patience, dear sister."

They waited longer, and despite the great distance the Dark Eco had to travel, neither was willing to leave and return later, for fear of missing this most momentous of occasions. Gol eventually sat by the wall, while Maia paced.

"That won't make it come any faster, dear sister," he said.

"Hmmph."

"What's a few more minutes after several centuries?" Indeed, this is what they had attempted to accomplish by opening the silo three hundreds years prior. Unlimited Dark Eco. They had come so close that time, only to fail. This time, there would be no failure. When Maia didn't respond, he continued, "Come sit with me, dear sister."

"I can't sit." She continued in this manner, heels clicking back and forth across their end of the hallway, before finally giving in and sitting cross-legged next to her brother, leaning forward, watching the pipe like a hawk waiting for a mouse to come out from its hole.

Finally, after a half hour, maybe more, but it certainly felt like longer, a gurgling could be heard from farther down the hallway. Maia sprung to her feet and Gol stood, as well, but more slowly (oh, his aching back!). Several moments later, Dark Eco was gushing out the end of the pipe, flowing down the stairs into the level below.

Maia squealed and hugged Gol tight, and as if transferring her enthusiasm to him, he hugged her back and picked her up, spinning her around, pain in his back forgotten.

"Put me down this instant!" she said through laughter.

"It's ours, dear sister! All the Dark Eco we could ever want!" Finally, it was really happening. All that they had worked so hard for. Now all that was left was to transform the world. Once all the fools that might stop them were wiped out, of course.

"I'm serious, put me down!"

He obliged and proceeded to cough and gasp for air from his excursion. Once he had recovered, they stayed some time longer in that passageway, watching the Dark Eco flow like an endless river into the depths of their citadel.

* * *

"Soon the Dark Eco will be ours!" Or already is. Ahem. Please review. And can you guess whose Precursor robot that was?... It's not important now, but can you remember?


	14. Chapter 13: Sprinkles

We take a break from our regularly scheduled Gol and Maia chapter to visit Jak and Daxter again.

* * *

**Chapter 13: Sprinkles**

Things were uneventful in Haven City. The very next morning after their arrival, Jak and Daxter went about visiting all those they had left behind. Ashelin, as expected, was still busy with her usual duties as the Governess, and just as Torn had reported, nothing worth mentioning had happened in quite some time. The past damage to the city had long since been repaired, and Ashelin was simply working on maintaining the current peace. Samos was as hard at work as ever continuing his research on Green Eco and was still just as grouchy (even after their extended time apart, the disdain between Sage and ottsel hadn't lessened, either). And Keira was well on her way to becoming the world's first Light Eco Sage. Having little else to do, Jak went about performing errands for her, which normally involved obtaining different kinds of Eco for her to study and even the occasional Precursor artifact.

Several weeks later, the pair was in the middle of collecting Yellow Eco in Haven Forest. At least, Jak was pretty sure he saw a Yellow Eco vent out here once. The young man rode on his JET-Board over the lake, gliding smoothly over the still waters that reflected the canopy above, sprouting from the trees that grew right out of the shallow lake, while the breeze rustling his hair gave a welcome break from the warm, summer heat. Aside from Daxter slapping at himself whenever a mosquito decided to bite him, the forest was surprisingly peaceful. Normally, Metal Heads prowled these woods. Actually, they used to stalk pretty much everywhere outside the city. But lately, he had seen very few, and those that he did come across, he quickly dispatched. This visit, however, he hadn't seen any at all. Not one.

Daxter jumped as he heard gunshots ahead. "Scared ya, Dax?" Jak asked.

"No!" He slapped himself in the face as another mosquito landed on his nose. "Ow!" After rubbing the sight of his newest booboo, he said, "Who else would be out here, though? Better be careful, Jak. I'm not in the mood for rescuing you right now."

"I wouldn't worry about that." Jak hopped off his JET-Board once he reached the edge of the lake and headed towards the source of the noise. He crept forward until he caught sight of someone through the trees.

"Hey, tattoo-face!" Daxter said.

Torn shot one final Metal Head before turning to them. "You shouldn't sneak up on someone with a gun. Certain obnoxious animals might 'accidentally' get shot."

Jak smirked. "I can live with that."

"Hey!" Daxter glared down at his companion, ears back, before swatting at a leaf that fell on his head, no doubt mistaking it for a particularly large insect.

The young man looked upon all the dead Metal Heads surrounding Torn. "So that's where all the Metal Heads have gone."

"You didn't save any for us," Daxter said.

"Want me to find you some?" Torn asked, returning his pistol to the holster on his leg.

"No, that's fine. I wouldn't want Jak gettin' scared."

Jak came closer. There were a good fifteen Metal Heads laying about, a well-placed bullet in each of their heads. "What brings you out here, Torn?"

The man shrugged. "I felt like killin' something. Like I told you before, there's not much goin' on in the city, so I figure if the Metal Heads aren't comin' to us, I'll go to them. What about you?"

"Just getting some Yellow Eco for Keira."

"I think she's makin' us do all this stuff because she's mad we left her behind to go adventurin'," Daxter said.

Torn gave a half smile. "Just wait 'til you're married. I imagine you won't be allowed to go to the other side of the city without permission."

"Who said anything about getting married?"

"Yeah, Jak," Daxter nudged the side of Jak's head with an elbow. "I bet she's considering asking _you_ soon, if you won't."

Jak crossed his arms. He still had other things to do before that.

"That's what I like about Tess," Daxter continued, "she understands a man needs his freedom. He needs to spread his wings and soar. Like a falcon."

"Unless he gets eaten by one first," Torn said.

"Nuh-uh, no falcon's eatin' me! I'll karate chop 'im!" Daxter mimicked doing just that, almost managing to fall off Jak's shoulder.

Jak shook his head. "Well, I guess we should—"

Daxter continued over his companion. "Speaking of gettin' married, when's Ashelin becoming Mrs. Tattoo-Face?"

Torn's expression became serious. "None of your business." Signaling this conversation was over, he started to walk by them, back in the direction of the city.

"Come on! When you gonna have a bunch of mini-tattoo-faces runnin' around? And you think they'll be as grumpy as you?"

Torn stopped, his back to them. "Jak."

"Yeah?"

"If the talking lint ball gets carried off by a falcon, take a picture for me, will ya?"

Jak had a devious smile on his face. "Already planned on it."

Daxter stomped a foot. "That's not funny! You guys stink!" As Torn walked away, he added in a louder voice, "And if a big bird manages to tote _your_ tubby bodies off, I won't save you! That's right!"

Torn flipped the ottsel off shortly before he was lost from sight, sending Daxter into another fit. "Didja see that, Jak? You gonna let him treat your best buddy that way?"

Jak turned to continue their trek farther into the woods. "You started it."

"I did not! _He_ started it! He always starts it!"

Jak sighed. "Let's just get the Yellow Eco and get out of here."

"Will you buy me an ice cream cone when we get back?"

"Last time I did, you dripped ice cream all over my shoulder plate."

"It's not my fault. I'm hot. Ice cream melts in my presence." He paused, as if considering something important. "I want chocolate. With marshmallows. And chocolate syrup."

Jak cringed, thinking about the future state of his shoulder armor.

"And sprinkles. The rainbow kind."

"We'll see." He thought he could see a Yellow Eco vent ahead.

"I had a rough day. You owe me."

Jak said nothing. There was no point in continuing the conversation. He just made a mental note to buy some kind of metal cleaner when they got back.

* * *

Jak headed in the direction of Keira's apartment in New Haven, Yellow Eco in tow, while Daxter sat on his shoulder, licking ice cream from a cone that was much too big for him. The ottsel held the cone closer to his friend's face.

"Sure you don't want some, Jak?"

Jak turned his face away, grimacing. "No, I'm fine."

Daxter shrugged. "Fine. Suit yourself."

They arrived at Keira's home, a narrow, but pleasant, place, squeezed in amongst countless other apartments, distinguishing itself by the abundance of brightly colored flowers she had grown using Green Eco, which now were threatening to overwhelm their window boxes. Being the newer part of town, built over the site of the Water Slums, it was also the cleanest part of Haven City. Jak knocked on the door and heard a voice from within.

"Be right there!"

After a few moments, Keira opened the door. "Hey, you got my Eco. Thanks."

She moved aside as Jak came in. The place was small, but bright, lit by windows on either side of the door. There was a small living room and kitchen, with a short hallway off to the side leading to a single bedroom and bathroom. Much of the space was filled with containers of different kinds of Eco and other tools no doubt meant for Eco-related research. Her makeshift lab wasn't quite as well-suited to work as the one she had shared with her father, but she had finally decided it was time to get her own place, and some sacrifices had to be made.

Jak set the container of Eco down on the table in the kitchen just as Daxter decided to jump down, a fairly impressive feat, as he had managed to do it without dropping his ice cream. It was now visible to Jak that the ottsel had chocolate and sprinkles all over his mouth. Several worrisome drips were running down the cone, threatening to come free and land on the table. He offered Keira the cone, as well, a large, toothy grin on his face.

"Want some, babe?"

She frowned at him. "Daxter, get off my table!" She grabbed a broom leaning in the corner and started to push him off.

"Hey!" He jumped to the floor, tripping and dropping his cone, the ice cream landing in a sad heap on the carpet.

"Daxter, now look what you've done!"

"It wasn't my fault! You saw it, Jak! She pushed me!"

Jak put his hand to his forehead and sighed. He should've known not to get Daxter ice cream. But, in his defense, it _did_ buy him some silence from the ottsel for a little while.

Keira got a wet rag and went about scrubbing the now-stained carpet, while Daxter stared at what was left of his ice cream, ears drooping.

"Sorry about that," Jak said.

"I didn't even get to eat the cone."

Keira glared at the ottsel for a moment before continuing to clean up the mess. Daxter frowned at his lost treat for a short while longer before climbing back onto Jak's shoulder. "Eww, gross, your shoulder's sticky."

Jak narrowed his eyes, then, directed his attention back to the woman kneeling on the floor. "Uh, you want any help?"

"No, I'm almost done."

As Jak vowed to never give in to Daxter's demands for ice cream or any other messy snack again, at least, not right before going to someone else's house, Keira finished cleaning the floor and stood. She glared down at where the ice cream had fallen, at the pale, brown stain that would blemish the carpet forevermore, and then headed into the kitchen to wash the rag, now rather brown and dotted with sprinkles in a multitude of colors.

Jak scratched the back of his head, Daxter pouting on his shoulder. "So...how's the whole Sage thing coming along?"

She was silent for a moment as she attempted to clean the rag. "Oh, it's fine." She squeezed the water out of it and laid it out on the counter to dry before turning around.

"How much longer, do you think?"

She went over to the table where the Yellow Eco was. "Hmm?"

"Before you become a Sage."

Keira leaned on the table with one hand, a distant look on her face. "I don't know. I still have a lot to learn. But, now that I can channel Eco, I suppose it won't be much longer."

"Just don't become all angry like old greeney," Daxter said. "From what I saw today, it already seems—"

"Not now, Dax." Something was strange about Keira. She was looking at the ottsel, lips set in a tight line, but her previous anger at him didn't return. "Do you need us to do anything else?" Jak asked. Why had she suddenly become so quiet?

She stood up straighter. "No, that should do it. I'll let you know if I need anything else done. That is, if you're not planning on going anywhere again." She crossed her arms and tilted her head.

He thought he was starting to understand. "Keira, listen—"

She shook her head. "You don't need to explain anything to me."

"But—"

"I get it. You two can't settle down. You've always been looking for trouble, ever since you were kids. I shouldn't be surprised."

He opened his mouth to speak again as she headed towards the door, but she continued over him, "I have work to do." She opened the door and looked at him, eyebrows raised.

"Keira…"

"I'll see you later. If you're still here by then."

This wasn't good, but she was pointing out the door. He came over to her, considering trying to speak again, but her expression deterred him. A kiss likely wouldn't be a good idea right now, either.

"Bye," was all he cautioned himself to say.

"Mm-hmm."

And she closed the door behind him. Jak stood there, staring at all the people passing by, utterly oblivious to what had just happened.

"Sheesh, what's her problem?" Daxter said.

"Dax?"

"What?"

"Shut up."

Jak started to head home, while Daxter kept a surprising amount of silence. As sudden as Keira's change in attitude had been, it wasn't entirely unexpected. He knew she had been bothered when he had told her that Dax and he were returning to the Brink, for little reason else but to travel and see the world a bit more, but he didn't think much of it at the time. It certainly didn't mean he didn't want to be around her, if that's how she took it. Maybe some other time, he could explain his side better.

* * *

Jak's lady troubles, and even more worrisome, the tragedy of Daxter's ice cream. And the cone is the best part. Please review.


	15. Chapter 14: Work and a Break From It

Let's see what Gol and Maia are up to today. I'll admit the latter part of this chapter is a bit odd…. No, very odd.

* * *

**Chapter 14: Work and a Break From It**

What had previously been the lowest level of the temple was now quickly becoming a massive lake of Dark Eco. After some time longer of watching the pipe do its work and their dream quickly and tangibly becoming a reality (part of it, at least), they forced themselves to leave and continue their own tasks. The first thing to do was connect the growing pool with all manner of smaller pipes and hoses to transfer the Dark Eco automatically to their machines. With the creatures to collect the other colors of Eco they needed, that left Maia to spend her time assisting Gol with the robot.

All the while, the machines could now run unattended, pumping out an endless supply of new servants. Not only did this automate the creation of their army, but it also kept the level of the pool at a manageable level. Otherwise, the temple was at real risk of becoming flooded if the pipe was not turned off in time. Imagine that, they now had more Dark Eco than they knew what to do with, as the saying goes. Which was, of course, not entirely accurate, as he knew _exactly_ what he wanted to do with it all.

As the weeks went by, their army grew to the thousands and then to the millions. Their citadel started to become so overrun with the creatures that the place was simply teeming with them before long, parts of the temple and its grounds appearing to the untrained eye as one, enormous squirming mass of blackness. Groups of the things could be found ambling just about everywhere except for the siblings' quarters, where they were forbidden.

At the same time, the robot finally began to take on a more acceptable appearance. Damage to its circuitry had been repaired, while its outer frame was restored. Once the initial stage of the robot's renovation was complete, Gol opened the hatch leading inside the robot's head and flew inside. Maia glided in behind him.

"You need to watch it from the outside," he said, as he started to press buttons and flip switches on the robot's console, lit only by a torch he held in his free hand.

"It's even more cramped in this one."

"We should also be spending much less time in this robot, dear sister." He pressed a few more buttons, and the lights came on, along with the view screen. A rumble could be heard from below them as the machine powered on, and a vibration could be felt through the cold, metal floor. "Go…"

She zipped outside, and he started to move some levers controlling the robot's limbs. Before he could inquire into the robot's movements, Maia's voice could be heard from outside. "It lifted its arm, if that's what you wanted."

"Perfect."

"What?"

"I…never mind!"

After more testing, he deemed the robot to be in working order. Now it was time for the improvements. They both worked together building weapons and enhanced armor. As the final stages neared completion, Gol's thoughts raced. It was nearly time. Time for them to create their new world. And no one was going to stop them. No mute boy. No Light Eco. No foolish Sages (as far as he was concerned, he was the only sane one of the whole bunch). Nothing. Those fools got lucky once, but it wasn't happening again. It couldn't. There was no possible way those idiots could beat the odds twice.

"So are you taking a break then?"

And they were far better prepared this time, as well. In fact, they really should be unstoppable. Weren't they? There wasn't anything he was missing, was he?

"Hello?"

Gol looked over to find his sister staring at him from across a large Yellow Eco cannon, made even more powerful than their previous one to compensate for the smaller size of the robot.

"Yes?"

"You were staring off into space."

He blinked at her. Had he been?

She continued, "A break might be nice, actually." She trailed a hand over the gun as she walked around to his side. "This can wait."

"We're nearly finished."

"All the more reason to take a break. We've been working for hours. I'm bored." She linked one arm with his. "Come on."

"Just a few more…"

She tugged him, leaving him with no choice but to follow or lose his balance. He dropped the wrench he had been holding, unable to set it down in a more suitable location, and left the room with her at a quick pace.

"I feel like a walk," she said.

"Must we walk so fast?" Before she could reply, he added, "And make no comment about my age."

"What makes you think I was going to?" She did slow her pace, however.

For the most part, they continued on at a more leisurely speed, except for the times Maia, guided by mere whim, it seemed, decided to pull him down a different passageway. He had no idea what time it was, but it was rather cold in this level of the citadel. Watching the candles, the only source of light down here, kept burning by their servants, their flickering could almost be mistaken for shivering.

They had walked in silence for sometime, through grand hallways that rose twenty feet up and large rooms with vaulted ceilings and intricate stonework gracing their walls. And cramped passageways with low ceilings and small, plain rooms completely devoid of any extra adornments that didn't seem to be meant for the same building as their more spacious counterparts. Deep in the temple, where nature hadn't touched, rooms were left about the way they might have been when people had lived here. Books and writing materials were left on tables, inkwells cursed to be eternally dried up, waiting for the user to return to chairs that had been pulled back. Storage rooms filled with unopened crates, the contents of which had not been seen in the Precursors knew how long. Once, they even spotted a pair of boots, just sitting there upright, as if still on invisible feet. What had caused them all to leave? And where did they go?

"Heading anywhere in particular?" he asked, trying a third time to grab a book lying open on a table, in case its contents held anything interesting, but Maia wouldn't allow it.

She shrugged. "Not really." They reached another room of the larger sort, pillars rising to meet a ceiling far above, and she stopped, staring upward. "All we've been doing lately is working."

"That we have, dear sister."

"We're always studying Dark Eco or building Precursor robots or some other kind of machinery, and whenever we're not, we're _thinking_ about doing those things. We've been doing little else but work since we were young, it seems. But, ever since we came up with our current plans, it's only gotten worse. Now we have no time to relax at all anymore."

Yes, he supposed they did. Ever since the day they decided they had had enough of those idiots and their misunderstanding of Dark Eco and the people who studied it. No matter how much the two of them did for those fools, they still wouldn't accept that Dark Eco didn't need to be feared. Even when they saw what good it could do with their own eyes. It could harm people when they weren't careful, yes, but Gol was also able to heal them using the knowledge gained from that same substance. When you harass a Lurker, and it bites you, is it your fault or the Lurker's?

He remembered when people would show up in his lab, with burns or mutations from Dark Eco. And what was so baffling about it all was, despite the fact that they had come to him for help, many of them still practically cowered in his presence. He had tried to be gentle in his treatment of them, even when they looked at him like he was just slightly less horrifying than what had caused their injury. As the years went by, he had gradually given up in his attempts to be kind to the fools. Let them be ignorant if they wanted. If his sister and he couldn't change the people's minds through simple reason, then that left them with no choice but to force those idiots to see what they refused to accept. But, perhaps they had become a little too caught up in it, as Maia had pointed out. His dear sister, here she was beside him, and yet look at him, ranting inside his head again.

He looked down at her. She had a far-off look, as if she was reminiscing about something, as well. But, based on her forlorn expression, it was likely something of a different nature. "What would you have us do, dear sister?" he asked.

Her head jerked up as she was awoken from thoughts of long ago. "I don't know. You remember, when we were children. We would explore the woods outside our village. Just the two of us." She sighed. "Sometimes I miss those days."

He grinned at her. "Are you suggesting we play hide and seek again, dear sister?"

She laughed, the sound echoing about the room. "Certainly not, dear brother!" She grew silent for a moment, and he watched her, wondering what was currently in her extraordinarily mysterious mind.

Then, she grabbed him by the wrist and tugged him to the middle of the room. "What's going on now?" Gol asked. He was getting much too old for this.

Maia let go of him and skipped a ways farther before spinning to face him. "Dance with me."

"What in Precursors' name has gotten into you?"

"I want to do something, and this is all I can think of." She held out a hand. "Come on, then."

"You baffle me."

"Get over here!" Was that a command?

He crossed his arms. "Not while you have those heels on, I'm not. I won't risk you stepping on my feet."

"Then, I risk coming into contact with _your_ feet. Have you cut your toenails lately?"

His feet were fine! They watched each other, at a standstill. She then pounced forward and grabbed his hands. "Dance with me, you bore!"

"You'll break my feet!"

"They're gross anyway!"

They absolutely were not! Maia forced one of his hands to her waist and put one of hers on his shoulder, and he relented, as deranged as her current behavior was. Their attempt at dancing was rather pitiful, however, as neither had ever done it before, and they had nothing but what they had seen to go on. They only succeeded in stepping around the room, lacking in anything whatsoever that could even, for a second, be mistaken for grace, Gol trying his best to keep his feet clear of his sister's very pointy heels. His feet were not gross.

"Just look at this, I used to have boys falling all over me, and here I am, dancing with my brother," she said.

"They're falling because you impaled their feet on your shoes." He could just imagine the damage those things could cause. She may as well be walking around with knives attached to her feet.

"Oh, you're rotten."

"I must have learned it from you."

She stuck out her tongue, and they mimicked "dancing", if that was even the correct word for it, for a short while longer, before putting an end to their efforts. For the first time in a while, Maia didn't feel the need to exert her will on him, and he walked with her, voluntarily this time, back to the room where they had left the construction of their robot unfinished and returned to their work. While his dear sister was correct that all they had been doing lately was laboring over one project or another, he knew there wouldn't be much more of it. Well, even after their current work was done, there would certainly be more to do, quite a great deal more of it, actually, but soon enough, they would be to the fun part. Frankly, he didn't consider what came next to be work at all.

* * *

Yeah, the end of this chapter was weird, wasn't it? Wait, don't answer that. Why _does_ Gol not wear shoes, forcing people to see his weird, blue feet? Come to think of it, pretty much none of the dudes in the first game wore shoes. Only the ladies did. Anyway, some good stuff is going to happen soon. I promise. And please review while you wait for this story to actually go somewhere.


	16. Chapter 15: First Flight

The robot is complete, and Maia gets a little carried away testing it. Sorry for the shortness of this chapter. At least, soon things will really start to happen.

* * *

**Chapter 15: First Flight**

Their progress on the robot continued, and as the enhancements were added, it began to take on a truly sinister form. All manner of weaponry and armor had been incorporated into its design. New guns and missiles and bombs, of all shapes and sizes, were built into its limbs and even its back. The two even managed to create a Dark Eco cannon that comprised one entire forearm, powered by a Dark Eco crystal they had managed to create quite by accident. In addition to weapons, they also added armor in the form of scraps of Precursor metal and sheets of Dark Eco crystal that would make their newest creation all but indestructible. Gol made several, last-minute adjustments, including some that were for solely aesthetic purposes, and once that was set, they flew a short distance away to observe their handiwork.

"I like it," Maia said.

"So do I, dear sister."

At this point, the huge machine no longer looked so much like a Precursor robot, aside from the long, thin downward pointing snout protruding from its head. Now it was a downright wicked looking contraption, bristling with countless weapons for the sole purpose of bringing their enemies to their knees. All this extra weight was counterbalanced by additional boosters in its back and legs, which would, if he had calculated correctly, allow it to fly unhindered. Due to the substances comprising its outer carapace, the robot was a patchwork of Precursor metal bronze and the deep black and brilliant purple of Dark Eco. (Gol had grown rather fond of purple. It was not a feminine color like people said.)

"We must test it out!" Maia said, clasping her hands in anticipation.

"We certainly—"

She zipped off towards the robot, and he followed suit. She could never let him finish speaking lately. But, he couldn't hold it against her. He was eager enough to observe their robot's powers, and she was always the more excitable. Once inside the robot's head, he found Maia looking at the controls like a child in a candy store.

"Maybe you should stand back," the Sage said as he closed the hatch. Seeing the glint in her eye, he worried she'd press something and blast apart their own citadel.

"Let's go kill something!" She was nearly jumping in excitement.

"Not yet. This is just a test."

"That doesn't mean we can't kill anything."

Taking his place beside her at the controls, Gol pressed a combination of buttons and switches, and the robot hummed to life. Even though he had heard that noise before, it still gave him the same thrill every time. To be absolutely surrounded by all this raw power. It felt like they could do anything they wanted. Anything at all.

"Come on, let's go!" his sister said.

"Wait a second!" He went through the initial diagnostics. This was the robot's first flight since it had met its unfortunate fate in the Catacombs. Such a shame it would be if, after all their hard work, the robot crashed. Or blew up even! Not that he doubted his craftsmanship, but he was in no mood to find himself in pieces, either way.

After everything checked out, he pressed another button, and a rumble could be heard from outside as the ceiling split in half and began to slide away, dust and sand raining down. A vital addition he had nearly forgotten, a door to get the robot out of the citadel to begin with. That would have been a most embarrassing mistake, and one that Maia never would have let him live down. What a feat of engineering it had been, though!

He then grabbed a particularly important lever and pulled it up, slowly, and the view of the room outside began to descend. Either their citadel was sinking, or they were flying. He guided the robot up through the ceiling and into a hall above where the roof had collapsed with age. The sky could now be seen, allowing him to take notice of the sun sitting directly overhead, signaling noon. But, they had begun work on their final preparations in the evening! Had they really worked all through the night? And this bright sunlight would do nothing to keep their actions hidden. Well, he supposed, if someone did spot them, Maia would get what she asked for.

"What shall we blast first, dear sister?" Gol asked.

She gazed out the view screen. Resting her hands on the console, she leaned in further, squinting her eyes. "There's nothing alive out here," she said.

"No, and for the sake of our own secrecy, it's for the—"

"Not if they're dead."

"Anyway, if you won't choose something, then I will," he continued.

"I'll think of something. Fly around," she pointed off in an arbitrary direction, though the intensity with which she did so making it seem almost as if that direction wasn't dictated by mere whim at all, "that way."

The Sage did as he was told, and they watched as the desert sped by beneath them. A more desolate place couldn't possibly exist. Sand and mountains and the occasional cactus. And more sand. Not even a small town to massacre, to please Maia.

When nothing satisfactory could be found, Maia huffed and pushed him out of the way. "Let me look!"

She steered the robot around, in really much the same manner as he had, an expression of deepest and most dire concentration clear on her face. This was just a test. They could destroy plenty of people later.

"What a positively boring place!" she said, stopping in a location with the most promising features they had seen thus far, scatterings of cactus patches. She let her anger out on one particular patch, setting it ablaze with a Red Eco laser. She laughed. "Well, that was a _little_ fun."

She directed her sights on another group. The way the cacti were shaped, it looked like they had their arms up in surrender. She pressed another button and wiped them from existence with the Yellow Eco cannon.

"That's really quite enough, dear sister," Gol said. He attempted to move her aside, but she swatted him away.

"You always get to control the robots! It's my turn now!" Her finger hovered over another button, and the Sage's eyes widened.

"That's—"

But, she had already pressed it, and there was a loud bang outside, the sheer force of the blast sending them reeling backwards while the view screen filled with dust and smoke.

"Which one was that, dear brother?" she asked as she steadied herself.

"It must have been the Dark Eco cannon." He had known it would be powerful, but he hadn't expected that. Once the dust cleared, a large, smoking crater could be seen before them, sand scorched and turned to glass.

Maia smiled at him. "You've done well, dear brother." She clapped one hand against the palm of the other.

"Can I have the controls back, dear sister?"

She stepped aside. "I want to see our lovely Dark Eco cannon in action again. I wasn't prepared last time."

"Let's see what we can find." They resumed their search for a proper target. He, too, wanted to see what damage their Dark Eco cannon could cause, and they would need another target to better judge the cannon's effectiveness.

"That," Maia said.

"What?"

"That!" She pointed straight ahead.

"That appears to be a mountain, dear sister."

"Precisely."

"I think you overestimate the cannon's abilities."

"Just do it."

He aimed the cannon directly at the mountain in the distance and fired. A black and purple beam, a foot in diameter, shot out and struck their target, and shortly after, a blotch could be seen in the face of the mountain, a plume of smoke beginning to meander out from it, as if staggering away in shock from a most traumatic and unexpected scene.

Maia clapped again. "Bravo, dear brother!"

He chuckled. "I thought it was typically men who liked explosions."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you calling me a man?"

"It is quite clear you are not, so no."

"So what next?"

He thought for a moment, thinking over the long list of things he'd love to destroy. Well, most of these things consisted of people who were long dead. But, there was _one_ thing…

"I've got the perfect thing in mind, dear sister."

* * *

Can you guess what it might be? Please review.


	17. Chapter 16: Worse Than Metal Heads

Still wondering what Gol wanted to test the cannon on? Well, I'm not telling. Or am I? (Read and find out, my dearies….) (And "Jak 3" spoiler in paragraph one.)

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**Chapter 16: Worse Than Metal Heads**

Jak and Daxter were once again riding the Air Train, but this time, they had a different destination in mind. Spargus. Many months after their return to Haven City, they had gotten a message from Sig. The new king of Spargus after Damas' death, Sig had formed somewhat of an alliance with Haven City, an act that was met with no small amount of protest from the citizens of both cities. Spargus was built by those kicked out of Haven City and left to die out in the Wasteland. It was no wonder the people of Spargus still felt ill will towards the other, while the citizens of Haven City got the idea that Spargus was a city of criminals, which was only half true. Sig had been keeping a close watch out for any suspicious activity in the Wasteland. Apparently, he had found some.

The transport stopped outside Spargus' gate, throwing up a cloud of dust with its anti-gravity boosters. Jak put his bandana over his mouth and nose in anticipation of this, but Daxter had nothing with which to protect himself as they jumped out of the transport. The ottsel hacked and gasped for air until after they had left the dust cloud, and then he was pelted by sand tossed about by the wind.

"Ah, the Wasteland," Jak said. "Can't say that I missed it."

The sun beat down at them, even at this early hour of the morning, as they headed for the huge gate of Spargus, a good 40, 50 feet high. The gate opened as they approached. As they passed through the city walls, the wind died down. This enclosed area was where the Wastelanders kept their vehicles. Jak had a few of his own stored here. Not much farther, and they had entered the main city. Out in the open, the wind picked up again. The area was lined with white, stucco buildings, while more buildings stood scattered around the middle of the large space. Many had spots in the walls that had been worn down to the foundation by the constant combination of windblown sand and hot desert sun.

Just like the place where they lived, the people, too, were rough, the women just as much as the men. Most, if not all, carried guns. Spargus had no need of guards as Haven City did. If trouble arose here, the citizens themselves would stop it. It would surprise those of Haven City that Spargus was possibly a safer place to be, as Wastelanders dealt harshly with any crime.

As Jak made his way to the palace, he was almost knocked down as someone ran into him. He caught his balance and looked down to see a young woman of about his age, staring up at him from where she sat in the dirt, her face turning bright red, and not from a sunburn.

She gave an awkward smile. "Sorry about that. I've been clumsy lately. Moved here several months ago, but I still haven't gotten used to all these people around. I keep just, bumping into them, y'know." She laughed. "Actually, I was just running away from another person I walked into."

"That's…that's fine," Jak said, as he grabbed her arm to help her up.

Once she regained her footing, she looked him up and down. "You seem different. Are you new here, too?"

"No, not really. I mean, I don't live here, but…"

"Oh, well… I don't want to keep you." Before Jak could make any response, the woman bid them farewell and ran off.

"What a weirdo," Daxter said.

Not long later, the two made it to their destination. They stepped into the elevator, and it sped upward. Jak crossed his arms. He had no idea what Sig needed to tell them. If it was just more Metalpedes in the Wasteland, he would have said so. Jak couldn't help but feel uneasy.

As soon as the elevator stopped, Sig arose from his seat at the back of the throne room. He stepped forward as the pair entered the room.

"Long time, no see, cherries! How've ya been?" Sig was a large man, made only more imposing by his armor and the Peace Maker that never left his side. Well, the gun was currently leaning against the throne, but it certainly wasn't far enough from Sig for any Metal Head's comfort. Actually, Sig's size alone was enough to make a Metal Head nervous, armed or not.

"Doin' good, Sig. Busy, but good," Jak said.

"Keepin' the Wasteland Metal Head-free, eh, big guy?" Daxter asked.

"You know it. Been dealin' with more of those nasty Metalpedes lately. We should go out and blast more of those bad boys some time."

Jak laughed. "Maybe another time, Sig. You wanted to see us about something?"

Sig's face grew solemn. "Sure did. And this time, it's not about Metal Heads."

"It's not those stupid Dark Makers again, is it?" Daxter crossed his arms.

"No, something else entirely. Something very strange… I better just show you."

Sig grabbed his Peace Maker (no self-respecting Wastelander would go anywhere without some kind of weapon), and they headed for the city gate. As they walked, the anxious feeling in the pit of Jak's stomach grew larger. If even Sig looked concerned, it had to be bad.

They got into the Gila Stomper, Sig in the driver's seat, and they headed out. The large, armored vehicle bounced along the sand dunes as they went at full speed, Daxter complaining until Sig told him to shut up. After some time, Jak didn't know how long, but the sun had since climbed high into the sky, they started to venture into a section of the desert he had never been before. All of the Wasteland looked nearly the same, but there was something different about this place, not just in appearance, but in its feel.

A couple hours into their trip, Daxter said, "Gee, Sig, kinda far out, aren't we? You plan on us stoppin' for a potty break?"

Sig gave the ottsel a look and continued on.

A million possibilities swarmed through Jak's head as they went farther and farther into unfamiliar territory. If it wasn't the Metal Heads or the Dark Makers, then what? Erol and Skyheed were dead. It could only be something new.

"Hey, Jak, why the long face?" Jak looked to see Daxter giving him a curious look, one eyebrow raised higher than the other. "I'm sure it's nothin' we can't handle."

"Almost there, cherries."

"Can't you just tell us what it is?" Jak asked.

"Yeah!" Daxter joined in. "Come on, big and chunky, we've waited long enough!"

"I told you, you need to see it for yourselves."

"But, I'm bored! And you drive worse than Jak! I'm gettin' bounced around like crazy here. I bet I got all kinds of bruises under my fur now."

Sig slammed on the brakes, the vehicle sliding on the loose sand, spraying them with dust and nearly tossing Daxter out, the ottsel saved only by quick reflexes and the fact that Jak was a sturdy enough thing to hold on to. "You'd rather walk?"

"…No."

"Good." He started to drive again. "Like I said before, shut up, and we'll be there soon."

Daxter whispered in Jak's ear. "Touchy today, ain't he?"

"What I say?"

"You said 'shut up'"

"Exactly."

Daxter crossed his arms and grumbled to himself, but other than that, he did as he was told. Jak couldn't help but grin. His friend was right. It couldn't be anything they couldn't handle. He hoped.

The air started to fill with a familiar smell. Jak hated that smell. The decaying, acidic smell of Dark Eco. He felt Dark Jak stir inside him, and he suppressed it. It had been a long time since his dark side had gotten free, and he planned on keeping it that way.

"Peeyu, what stinks?" Daxter said, pinching his nose. "Not me!"

His question was answered as they began to see a sickly purplish haze ahead. As they went farther, the ground gradually turned from golden sand to a more solid form of soil, almost glassy, and colored a mottled black and purple. Sig had slowed the vehicle, and the ground crumbled beneath the tires. Ancient trees rose up from the ground, their shape now twisted into freakish forms, black and scaly. The sun had a purple film over it, and the air was stale. It burned Jak's lungs to breathe.

As they neared the top of a dune, several objects started to come into view. They stopped at the top of the hill. It was worse than Jak could have imagined.

* * *

Short chapter, but not short on suspense, no? I am truly wicked, am I not? I promise I'll divulge the details in the next chapter. Cross my heart and hope to get a stubbed toe. Also hope you review. I hope I wrote Sig okay. And can you guess who the clumsy woman was?...


	18. Chapter 17: Premonitions

Jak is spoiled. He gets two chapters in a row. And I finally reveal what Gol had in mind. Promise for sure this time!

* * *

**Chapter 17: Premonitions**

The Dark Eco silos stood before them, now much shorter than when Jak and Daxter had last seen them. Still, these towering structures remained no less ominous despite their decrease in stature. But, that wasn't what bothered them. What was worse, far worse, was the fact that one silo had been opened. Not in the usual method, but blasted open, leaving a ring of jagged walls, twisted and sharp, rising up to slice at a purple sky. The entire top half of the silo, at least, what remained above the sand, had been destroyed, as if by an immensely powerful bomb, and the Dark Eco within had clearly been released. But, the silos were made of Precursor metal. What could possibly have done this?

"Gol," Jak said, a word that came out low, as if he feared what might happen if he gave voice to that name too loudly in this tainted landscape.

Daxter looked over, wide-eyed. "Huh? No way! It can't—"

"It's Gol and Maia! It has to be!" His heartbeat grew faster, thumping in his chest, as he stared at the silo that now stood open despite his best efforts to stop it three hundred years earlier.

"Those two wackos are long dead! Remember, Jak? That was centuries ago!"

Jak's head spun to face his friend, voice raised. "Who else could t be, Dax?"

"I don't know, but—"

"Could it be, Jak?" Sig asked, one hand still resting on the steering wheel. "You and Daxter are some of the only people still alive who've seen 'em. You of all people know what they're capable of."

"I can't imagine who else it could be. And…that's the same silo they were trapped in. I remember it. We fought for our lives up there, Dax and I. But, they were trapped inside. I saw it happen."

"But, if there's one thing us Wastelanders know a thing or two about, it's survival. An old saying goes, 'You can't be sure it's dead unless you killed it yourself. And even then, shoot it again, just to be sure.'"

"Well, we certainly didn't do that," Daxter said, ears back.

"There's been a story," Sig continued, "since long before Spargus was built, that one of the silos contained an ancient evil, no doubt the two you fought. The Wastelanders of long ago believed this area was bad luck and that the evil trapped in the silo would awaken one day. The ancient Wastelanders were a superstitious people, heck, they still are, but their stories always have some truth to them. It seems to me those stories were right. Those two weren't dead, and they've gotten free."

"But, how?" How could they have lived this long? It had been centuries, just like Daxter said. Even Dark Eco Sages shouldn't be able to last that long.

"I couldn't tell you that anymore than I could explain how the ancient Wastelanders survived out here. All I know is something bad is on the loose, and we need to do something about it."

"Yeah, I know." Dark Jak was struggling more than ever. He felt sick. The Light Eco within him was normally enough to hold it back, but not in this place. His dark side could sense the Dark Eco out there. Miles and miles of land corrupted by the stuff. And Dark Jak knew he couldn't resist forever.

"Sig, let's just get out of here," Jak said. He put his hand to his forehead and closed his eyes as Sig turned the vehicle around.

"You okay, Jak?" he heard Daxter say.

"I'm fine, Dax."

Dark Jak finally settled down as they left the tainted landscape, but not completely. Being near all that Dark Eco had awoken a bloodlust inside him, and it didn't want to rest until that hunger was satisfied. It felt like a far-off rage that was not his own, and Jak did whatever he could to ignore it and think of better things. But, all that ran through his mind was what he had seen and the undeniable fact that, whether or not Gol and Maia had returned or if some other evil was on the loose, they were in a great deal of danger.

* * *

After what seemed like an eternity, they finally reached the gates of Spargus, some time after nightfall. Sig wished them good luck, and Jak and Daxter boarded the Air Train. As the transport flew back towards Haven City, Jak's nausea started to fade, and he could only feel Dark Jak's distant sulking. His thoughts raced as he wondered what the destroyed silo could mean for the future of Haven City. And the world. If it _was_ Gol and Maia again, the two of them had tried to twist the entire planet with Dark Eco. He couldn't imagine a future bleaker than that. Dark Eco was the vilest substance to have ever existed. People thought they knew how bad it was, but compared to what Jak had experienced, they knew nothing.

Once the Air Train landed, Jak got out as soon as the back gate lowered far enough down, and he was on his JET-Board, jumping down into the murky, oily waters of the port to shave off any time possible. Once across the water, he went up a ramp back to the city streets and headed straight for New Haven, dodging around anyone that got in his path, earning him a few choice words from those he almost bumped into. He ignored these, but Daxter threw back dialogue of his own.

Once in New Haven, it wasn't long before he arrived outside the headquarters of the Freedom League. If they were to stand a chance in what was to come, he'd need to make sure the city was prepared, even if they didn't know what they needed to be prepared for.

The automatic doors opened for them, and they entered a large room. The person he needed to see most right now was currently leaning over the central console in the middle of the space.

"Ashelin, we need to talk," Jak said, as he made his way to the city's Governess. She had the same red hair as Torn and a similar tattoo adorning her face. And a similar disposition, as well.

"What is it? I'm busy," she said, not bothering to look up.

"It's about the Wasteland. Sig found—"

"It's the Dark Eco silos! One of them's gone ka-plooey!" Daxter said, throwing his arms up into the air.

Ashelin stood up straighter, her eyes finally meeting his. "Is this true?"

"Just like Daxter said, one of the silos has been blasted open, spilling Dark Eco for miles. And this may sound crazy, but we think it might be Gol and Maia."

Daxter bobbed his head up and down in dire agreement.

"Gol and Maia? You mean the two you fought before coming to the future? How is that possible?" A mixture of confusion and concern was plain on her face.

"I…I don't know. But, they seem like the only ones who would do this."

"Yeah. 'Cause they're loons!" Daxter twirled a finger next to his head, in case the extra gesture might shed further light on their predicament.

"Did you see anything else that could help us?" Ashelin said.

Jak shook his head. Unfortunately, all he knew was that something terrible had happened, but nothing else. Maybe Sig would find out more.

"So you're saying that two people you fought three hundred years ago have come back and blown open a Dark Eco silo?"

"I know it sounds crazy, but something obviously happened! I just don't know anything else!"

Ashelin shook her head. "I'm sorry, Jak, but it doesn't make any sense. But, you're right, there's no doubt that whatever happened is serious. I'll send someone out to investigate right away."

"I don't know if we have time for that." For whatever reason, he had this nagging feeling that something was coming, and soon. These thoughts almost seemed to be originating from Dark Jak, as if his dark side had picked up on something in that poisoned environment that he himself had missed.

"You said you didn't see—"

"Just trust me." Had he ever steered them wrong before? They stared into each other's eyes, and as if Ashelin saw reassurance in them, she nodded.

"I'll work to raise the city's defenses and prepare the Freedom League for anything that might happen. I hope it's not as urgent as you think, but," she shook her head, voice growing soft, "that's not likely, is it? Not with Haven City's past track record."

"Thanks, Ashelin."

"There's no need of that. Just go home. It's late. We'll need you for whatever happens."

He nodded, and after watching Ashelin a little longer as she got back to work, he forced himself outside and started heading in the direction of home. His feet felt heavy, though, and unwilling to allow him to reach a place where he could rest. It wasn't likely he'd be able to sleep anyway. All he could hear now was a voice in his head, screaming at him that there wasn't time. He had found out too late. It was a horrible, deranged voice that he had heard a couple times before, at various low points in his life over the last several years. Every time, he tried to tell himself that it was just his own fears taking on that crazed quality, but he could never shake the thought that it was the voice of Dark Jak.

* * *

Darn my inability to make chapters long or to find a good image of the Freedom League HQ either on the Internet or in my "Jak 3" guide. Too lazy to put forth further effort (I mean, I suppose Youtube was always an option…), I resigned myself to just going by what I remembered. You guys know what it looks like, anyway. And darn this series for having all these characters. Now I have to hope I wrote for Ashelin okay. For me, she's the hardest of them all to write for, for some reason. Please review.


	19. Chapter 18: The Absence of Song

Back to Gol and Maia, with some timing issue in this chapter that I, luckily, managed to catch before posting it. Fixed now. All is right in the world again, except for the fact that two murderous siblings are about to unleash terror. But, that doesn't seem so bad after the threat of my timing issue. Enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 18: The Absence of Song**

The twins returned the robot to its room within the citadel, now more than satisfied with the impressive might it had just recently demonstrated, and headed for the lab. As they walked, neither said a word, as they were no doubt preoccupied with not only the imminent destruction of all those that might oppose them, but also the things they would do once the world was theirs. Gol knew exactly what _he_ wanted. They would change the appearance of the world, yes. He would also heal his ailing body. But, one thing in particular that he looked forward to was changing the people. They would finally know what the two of them had known all along. How foolish they would feel when their eyes were opened. That the ones who should be scorned were them, for their blindness and utter ignorance, not his dear sister and himself. If only he could return the life to their parents and rub it in their smug, foolish faces. His father especially. Oh, how he wished he could bring that man back to life, show him the truth, and kill him. Dark Eco surely had powers he still wasn't aware of. Perhaps that wasn't so much of an impossibility, after all. Not that he'd get the chance to…enlighten them, however, even if he _did_ gain that ability. Maia would likely butcher them before he got the chance to drive the point home anyway. Oh, his dear capricious sister.

When they reached their lab, Maia was the first to break the silence. She twirled to face him, fists planted on her hips as they always were when she was in a situation that was of utmost interest to her. "Why can't we just go and incinerate everyone right this instant?"

"I already told you, a little more planning never hurts." He walked past her and took a piece of paper from the pile on the table.

"We've done plenty of planning."

"We haven't decided on which city to attack first, dear sister." He took a pen and began sketching out a rough map of the surrounding area, along with the key features of each city. This he did from what he remembered from those books. He could always go fetch the appropriate resources back from the library for a more accurate map, but Maia didn't seem to have enough patience left to accommodate even that short of a detour. Already she was tapping her foot.

She threw her arms wide. "Just pick one, and let's go." She came over to the table and resumed her impatient pose. "Spargus is the smaller one. Why not start with that?"

"Yes, that would be a wise choice, wouldn't it?" Just a single turret. Take that out, and it was over.

"Then, it's decided."

His brow furrowed as he thought of something. "On the other hand…"

She crossed her arms. "What?"

Spargus. "Who knows, maybe I'll move to Spargus and become a city girl." That's what Kassra had said before he had left. That was a year ago. Likely she had arrived there long ago or had died out in the Wasteland. But, if she had survived alone in that unforgiving environment since she was a child, the former was more likely.

"Forget Spargus," the Sage said. "It's just one small place. Why waste our time?"

She paused to consider this, head tilted to the side. "I thought you _liked_ wasting time, planning out everything down to the tiniest of details."

"Yes, dear sister, I go out of my way to waste time just to make you wait."

She nodded. "And you, dear brother, think we should actually skip Spargus?"

"I do." It couldn't be much of a threat. He was sure it wouldn't be. "Plus, we can get to the most exciting part faster. I should think you'd be all for that, dear sister."

"I'm surprised at you." She smiled. "But, I'm not complaining. So Haven City it is, then. But, I suspect we can't just go and blow them up right now, can we? We'll still have to plan some more, am I right?"

"That is indeed correct, dear sister." They really didn't need to destroy _every_ human encampment within a thousand miles, did they? Just the main one. Yes, that should be enough. It should be. Besides, they were unstoppable at this point anyway. If that was not the case, then their preparations up until now really had been a waste of time.

They got to planning out their next moves, utilizing a combination of their army and the robot. With the Dark Eco cannon, they could have Haven City on their knees in a day. Perhaps he _was_ planning things out too much. But, they were too far in their plans to risk failure again. After some time and many positively vicious (not to say they weren't ingenious) ideas from Maia, they devised the perfect battle plan. Once they destroyed that city, they could always turn their attention to Spargus if need be.

Now that they had that out of the way, he managed to convince Maia, after a great deal of protest, to wait several more days for the number of their troops to reach a more desirable number. And now, finally it was their chosen day of attack and only a little more waiting was necessary, as their assault would be the most successful under cover of nightfall. They had sent the creatures out some time ago to begin their march towards their intended target, and they would catch up later with the robot.

While it would have been best to sleep their final hours before the attack, neither sibling could rest, and so both simply found ways to bide their time. Gol continued work on his other experiments, but with no success, as he had too much else on his mind competing for his attention, while Maia had brought Teeth into the lab to keep them company.

After some time, though, Teeth's attempts to sink its namesake into the Sage's flesh grew tiresome. "Dear sister, can you put that thing somewhere else?"

"Do you have some objection to my pet, dear brother?" she asked from where she sat on the table. He wished she would just sit in a chair like a normal human being.

"I most certainly do. Move it elsewhere, please."

She stood and picked up Teeth's container, holding it at face level. "Someone doesn't like you. I can't imagine why."

Teeth responded by trying to rip off her face. Gol raised an eyebrow as he watched the little beast thrash about. He hoped that glass was strong enough.

Maia directed a disappointed look at her brother. "I only want you two to get along."

He snorted.

"Come, my ugly, little darling." She paused and looked at Gol. "In case you can't tell, I'm talking to it, not you."

"Just go!"

She laughed and headed for the doorway, humming to her less than affectionate pet. Gol stopped his work and looked up.

"Dear sister."

"Hmm?" Maia stopped at the doorway.

"Why don't you sing anymore?"

"What?"

He put his pen down. "You don't anymore."

"I understood your question. And I was doing it just now."

"I haven't heard you sing in…forever."

She blinked at him, face taking on a serious expression. "I don't know." And she shrugged and left.

The Dark Sage watched the spot where she had been, eyes half closed. No, he hadn't heard her sing in a long, long time. She had a lovely voice. He still remembered it, back when he would work in his lab, in much the same manner as he still did now, while she sang cheerful tunes to herself while she went about her own chores. As much as most noises distracted him, this one didn't, and he would listen to her voice, almost a tangible thing, one of beauty and contentment, like an exotic bird winging its way through the rooms of their small house. At least, that's what he thought it would look like, if her singing could be seen. Perhaps in their new world, she would start again.

He lowered his head and, after some more thought, got back to his fruitless scribbling, even though he knew he'd get nothing done while thinking about tonight. Doomsday had come for Haven City.

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I really must combine chapters to make them longer. I really must indeed. Anyway, some action is finally coming up soon. Please review.


	20. Chapter 19: Voices

A special note for today. PurpleArmadillo has been kind enough to start doing fan art for my story. I am so honored that someone liked my story enough to make artwork for it, and if you want to see it, the link to her deviantart account (bagasuit091) can be found on her profile (and a link to her profile can be found in this story's reviews). I really like what she's doing so far, so you must go see. (The current picture is entitled "Jak and Daxter: BHDP Prologue Concept".) Thank you so much, PurpleArmadillo!

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**Chapter 19: Voices**

Jak lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. A quick look to the side told him it had just turned 5, and he could see the first light of day peeking through the blinds. He didn't remember how much he had slept last night. Most of the time, he lay awake, thinking about what was coming while trying to ignore the voice in his head. Sometimes he woke up without being sure if he had really even slept at all.

He got out of bed and got dressed and shuffled out into the hallway, past Daxter's room. It seemed a bit strange to some that they lived together, but they were best buddies, after all, and it wasn't too easy for an ottsel to live alone in the big city. With nothing better to do, he made coffee and sat on the worn, blue couch. He envied Daxter sometimes. To be so carefree, or just plain oblivious, that he could sleep soundly when something terrible was looming in the future. As insane as the voice in his head sounded, he had a feeling it was right. Something was almost here. He didn't know how it knew, but it did.

The Dark Eco told me.

Jak shook his head. No, it was just his imagination. His dark side didn't know anything. It was just a made-up voice, and such a thing certainly couldn't know what was going to happen. He was just on-edge.

The young man leaned forward, cooling cup of coffee, hardly a drop touched, held in one hand on his lap, the other hand on his forehead. He was startled when something jumped onto the couch beside him.

"Got a headache, Jak?" Daxter asked.

"What are you doing up so early, Dax?" Did he always have to be so loud?

"I heard the coffee maker gurglin', then, I figured you musta been out here brooding about somethin'."

The ottsel jumped down and headed to the kitchen, where he used the handles on the cabinets to climb onto the counter. Jak got up and went to join him as Daxter struggled to pour himself some coffee.

"We really oughtta look into some ottsel-sized cups, y'know," Daxter said, before sticking his head into the coffee mug.

Jak leaned his elbows on the counter. "I tried, but you didn't like the thimbles I got you."

"Yeah, and I bet you thought you were real funny. And the shot glasses made me afraid I'd turn into Tattoo Man."

There was silence, a rare thing with the ottsel around, broken only by the sound of Daxter's slurping. Which was welcome. Anything to help him ignore the voice in his head.

After a bit, Daxter wiped coffee from his chin. "So whatcha plannin' on doin' today? Or are you just gonna spend all day lookin' groggy?"

Jak stood up straighter and walked towards the living room again, cup of coffee left forgotten on the counter. "I…don't know yet." Keira didn't seem to want to see him lately. And he didn't know how much help he'd be to Ashelin right now.

He turned around at the sound of a crash from behind him. Daxter had pushed his coffee mug, drink now finished, into the sink. Seeing the surprise on his friend's face, the ottsel grinned. "Scared ya, Jak? Don't worry, the cup's fine. Not a crack on it. That chip, it was there already."

He was lost to sight when he jumped off the counter. Jak needed that kind of energy right now. That's why he had made the coffee, but then he wasn't in much of a mood for drinking it.

The ottsel reappeared as he strolled out from behind the counter. "You know what you need?"

"What?"

"To shoot something!" Daxter mimicked firing a machine gun. "You know, chassis."

"You mean catharsis?"

"Yeah, that, too. What do you say we go kill some Metal Heads?"

"I don't know. I don't think I'm really in the mood for that right now, Dax." He didn't need to see more death. Wait, more?

So you _are_ listening to me.

Stop!

A little birdie told me what's coming.

I said be quiet!

Don't tell me you're not curious….

Just shut up!

Jackie-boy.

"Stop talking to me!"

"Jak, what's the matter?"

Jak opened his eyes to see Daxter staring up at him, ears hanging back. He lowered his hands. Hands that had been clutching his head. And he was breathing heavily.

"I'm fine, Dax."

"Nuh-uh. Suddenly you were grabbing your head and actin' all funny like you do when you turn into Dark Jak. You've been actin'…"

"Dax."

"…weird ever since we got back from seein' Sig." The ottsel crossed his arms, his worried look now replaced by a stern frown.

"It's nothing. I-I don't want to talk about it." He turned away.

"Jak, I'm your best buddy," came the voice from behind him. "You can tell me anything, I mean, not like about if you have a weird rash or anything, but…"

"I know, Dax."

"Jak…?"

"I just want to be alone right now. Okay?"

After a moment, Daxter responded, "Fine. I'm gonna go see Tess. It's kinda early, but she'll wake up for her Orange Lightning, won't she? Anyway, you know where to find me if you need me."

The ottsel walked by, giving Jak another worried look, then, headed to the door. He jumped up to reach the knob, turned it in a manner that showed he had plenty of experience in this area, and opened the door. Jak watched as his friend left, and the door closed behind him.

Jak took a few steps forward and fell back to sit on the couch, holding his head in his hands. "Get out of my head." His voice was a low growl. "You're not taking over again!"

He couldn't let the anger get the best of him. That was the worst way to win a battle with his dark side. He sat up straight and took deep breaths. He closed his eyes, then, promptly opened them. He was already hearing things. What if he started seeing things, as well?

Jak did whatever he could to keep himself busy. He attempted to watch the NYFE races on TV. He went through Daxter's comic books (Daxter always had the best things in his room, mainly because all of Jak's stuff eventually ended up there, never to return). After perusing through these for some time, he came upon a different kind of magazine that he quickly put away, one that he hadn't meant to see. And then he paced. He did a lot of that. He wanted to go outside, but he didn't know what might happen, and it was best to stay away from people as much as possible. But, what if Daxter came back, and… No, Dark Jak was not coming out. Why didn't the Light Eco inside him stop it, though? Whatever Dark Jak knew, this information must have caused it to get pretty worked up. But, Dark Jak couldn't know anything. It wasn't possible. It was simply his dark side. It couldn't know what he didn't.

After a whole day of this, Dark Jak wasn't settling down. And it was getting late, and Daxter was bound to be coming home soon. Thank the Precursors he hadn't yet. He needed to talk to Samos. Maybe he would know something. But, then, he'd have to go outside. He couldn't stay indoors forever, though. And why wouldn't Dark Jak just shut up already!

He stopped pacing. "It's close. Something's almost here."

He then headed for the door and went outside, walking in the direction of the Green Sage's lab as fast as he could. There were still so many people out! Why don't they go home already! What was wrong with them! Didn't they know they were in danger? No, they never did. They always just wandered around, like rats, stupid rats, and expected him to save them, the…!

Samos would help him. He had to. Focus on that.

They were nothing but stupid animals! They all deserved to die!

Samos would know what to do. Good, old Samos. He would help him. He would…

How was it getting dark so fast? Why did that worry him? He wasn't afraid of the dark. He had been out at night plenty of times. No problem. The sun was just going down. It was natural. It happened everyday.

Stupid morons! There's nothing in their empty, thoughtless brains! I bet they wouldn't even notice if I tore their heads right off!

Was Samos' place always so far away? Was he lost? He had seen that building before. Was he going in circles? All the buildings looked the same, though. How could he lose his way here, anyway? He had been in this city for years.

The sky was black now. Completely black. Black. There wasn't even any moon tonight. Where was it? Was the world ending?

So what? There is no moon.

But, why not? Why tonight?

Jak.

Where was he? He didn't recognize this section of the city.

Jackie.

Why was everyone looking at him that way? He wanted to rip their…

Jackie-boy.

He stopped, breathing heavily, sweat on his forehead. People were keeping clear of him, watching him. One, no, two, no, how many? Freedom League guards. They were keeping a close eye on him, as well. Why so… Ashelin. She had more patrolling the streets. Yes. Everything was fine. She had everything under control. Jak forced a smile, and then a laugh. It was good. Okay.

Just then, people started screaming, and sirens started to blare out a warning. Was it him? He wasn't changing, was… No. There was another sound.

Told you so.

There was a banging. Banging on the city walls. Like something was hitting them. Or a million smaller somethings. What were the Metal Heads…

His breath caught in his throat. Another sound. A rumbling, low. And the creaking and whirring of machinery. He had heard that sound before.

Jak turned his head just as a dark mass started to rise up from behind the wall. It moved slowly, floating upward, as if to observe them. Spotlights flickered on from the walls and rolled about to land on the shape, but the object was so dark, it still seemed to fade into the night, a starless shape in the sky, with patches of Precursor metal catching the light and reflecting a dull, bronze glow. Jak's eyes widened. A Precursor robot. And this time it wasn't Veger.

* * *

Oh, how fun to write this chapter was. A rather bad day for poor Jak, but a good day for me. Please review.


	21. Chapter 20: Some Minor Theft

Ugh, I must write fighting scenes again. Here I go.

* * *

**Chapter 20: Some Minor Theft**

The robot hovered there longer, as people screamed and bolted about like frightened animals. Then, without warning, it raised an arm and out shot a blinding beam of purple and black, right into the southern section of the city's western wall. It held the beam for several moments before it was lost in a cloud of debris and smoke.

"The shield wall is down. All citizens, take cover in your homes. I repeat, the shield wall is down," a strangely unemotional, pre-recorded female voice rang out over the area. All this seemed to succeed in doing was causing the people to cry out more.

It's the beginning…

"Shut up." He had to do something. There wasn't a great deal he could do about the robot right now, but whatever was banging on the wall had stopped. And that couldn't be good. Jak pushed his way in the opposite direction of the shrieking masses of people, in the same direction as the soldiers, towards the damaged section of the wall.

There was a deafening blast, like from the beam the robot had directed at the wall, but closer. It struck a building nearby with such force, it knocked Jak off his feet. He landed face-down on the cracked asphalt and looked behind him, rolling to the side just before a hunk of concrete landed where he had been lying. He sprung to his feet and began sprinting, the streets becoming empty except for the soldiers. More blasts could be heard, as the robot fired upon one building after another. He had to stop that thing before it leveled the entire city. He had brought down two robots before. But, neither were that heavily armored or had such firepower.

A new sound could be heard up ahead, this time coming from the Freedom League guards, ordering their fellow soldiers to fire at what lay ahead, their shouts only to be cut short by screams.

Without missing a beat, Jak pulled out his Morph-Gun, set on the Blaster, and pushed his way beyond the perimeter of soldiers. But, what met Jak's eyes were not Metal Heads, but something even worse. He had seen such things before, but never this vicious. Twisted creatures of a deep black and about the height of a large man (a very large man), but with a much greater build. Their mouths were a mess of long, sharp teeth sticking out in all directions, set beneath beady, yet strangely intelligent, eyes. It was with these eyes that one, after mauling a soldier, biting right through his armor and then dropping the man when he no longer struggled so much, stopped and considered him. Jak had a feeling it wasn't just interested in his appearance, which differed a great deal from the blue-armored men. As the fighting continued around them, he stared back into its black eyes. It was like it knew him. Or at least felt the presence of something within him that made them similar.

Jak narrowed his eyes. "I'm nothing like you!" he said under his breath. And then he began firing at its head, and it shrieked and hissed, coming at him with a speed unexpected for its bulk. He stepped back, still firing, but it kept coming at him, growing more enraged by the second. His back hit a wall, and it was upon him with teeth and curved claws. He switched to the Wave Concussor, sticking the gun in the creature's mouth and firing, sending it reeling back, most of its teeth blown out. It staggered a bit, dark blood of nearly pure Dark Eco running down its chin, before falling. It twitched, before going still.

Jak wiped blood from the gash on his cheek. Soldiers were all around him, but they were outnumbered. The creatures kept coming down the streets, no matter how many were killed. Not that a very large number had been taken down yet. More bodies of soldiers littered the streets than those of monsters.

This couldn't be happening again. Hadn't Haven City suffered enough? Dark Eco had to hurt everything. It thrived on pain. But, he was not like those creatures, even if the same substance resided within them. He had his humanity. They did not.

Jak continued fighting off the creatures as best he could, saving the limited shots of his Peace Maker for the most urgent situations. But, neither the efforts of the soldiers nor himself cold make a dent. The numbers of the creatures only continued to increase, and he had to fall back along with the soldiers when the streets became too full of monsters. And the robot continued its assault on the city, appearing to have an unnecessarily varied arsenal that would be described as remorseless at best, while picking off the attacking Hellcat cruisers with ease, not even bothering with the automated turrets firing at it from atop the wall, which seemed to have no effect on it. Worst of all was that black beam. He had never seen anything like it.

Another blast hit nearby, and Jak knocked a soldier out of the way of the flying chunks of concrete and glass, then, proceeded to fire at the monster the man had just been aiming at. Already weakened, it went down without much trouble.

"So you make a habit of knocking people over in the battlefield?" The soldier's voice was muffled by the helmet he wore, but he sounded familiar. The man took off his helmet to reveal red hair and a certain tattoo.

"Torn."

"Didn't recognize me without my armor on, I see. I don't normally wear any, but with the current situation, a guy would have to be crazy to go out without any protection." He eyed Jak's stained and bloodied clothing (most of it was not his blood, fortunately, but the blood of those monsters), complete with a few tears.

Jak shrugged. "I guess I just have more confidence in my skill."

"And your so-called 'confidence' has gotten you a few cuts on your face. Guess you're finally trying to ditch the pretty boy look?" Torn fired a few well-aimed shots from his pistol into an oncoming monster's eyes, effectively incapacitating it.

"Torn, what are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be helping Ashelin?" The man _was_ the Governess' advisor, after all, and right now, he wasn't doing much advising.

"And miss out on the action? And besides, I _am_ helping Ashelin. By defending the city. It looks…"

They both turned their attention on another creature, the combined firepower bringing it down quicker than if they were alone.

"As I was saying, it looks pretty bleak, even by Haven City standards. You gonna do something about that robot?" Torn pointed at the machine in question with a thumb. "I hear you've dealt with stuff like that before."

"I can't get anywhere near it…. Hey, have you seen Dax? Do you know if—"

"No, I haven't."

"Can you—"

"Jak, this really isn't the time to talk. If I see the fleabag, I'll make sure he's safe. That's what you're trying to say, right?"

"Yeah…" One of Daxter's favorite hangout spots was the Naughty Ottsel. As long as the monsters hadn't reached the port yet, he should be safe. For now.

Torn nodded, then, went off in another direction, throwing his helmet back on just before taking out another creature that charged at him.

Jak continued his own fight against the assaulting monsters, but the longer the night wore on, the harder a time he had. Minor cuts and blows started to add up, and his body ached all over. He found an inconspicuous corner to catch his breath and wipe sweat and blood from his face. He nearly leapt out of that corner when something landed on his head, clutching at his hair and ears. Jak struggled to get it off, but it held on tight.

"This is bad, Jak! Real bad!"

His grip on the object loosened. "Dax, is that you?"

"Of course, it's me. Who else can fit on your head? Not the other fatties you know, that's for sure." Daxter released his hold on Jak and dropped onto the man's shoulder. "What's goin' on, Jak? That must be the same thing that blew open the silo! It's gonna blow up the whole city if no one stops it!"

Indeed, crumbling buildings could be seen all around them, as smoke from dozens of fires congregated above, trying to blot out the sky. He needed to stop that robot. But, how, when he couldn't even get over to it?

"Dax, how'd you get here?"

"Whaddya mean? I walked. How'd _you_ get here?"

"No. You didn't take the streets, did you?"

"No, are you crazy?" Daxter pointed up. "I took the rooftops. There's none of those weird monsters up there. Impressed, aren't ya?"

"I am, actually. And you've given me a great idea." Looking around, Jak spotted an overturned trash bin nearby. Setting it top down, he climbed up, and with a jump, he grabbed the railing of a low balcony nearby and pulled himself up. The huddled family inside watched them through a glass, sliding door, looking positively dumbfounded. Jak gave a feeble wave and a sheepish grin, while Daxter was more focused on the street below them.

"Careful, Jak! In a city under attack by monsters and a giant robot, you wanna die by falling?"

With the people inside's panic beginning to turn into annoyance, Jak turned and started to run up the fire escape until he reached the roof several stories up. He looked out over the innumerable rooftops that stretched before him. From up here, he could see more than ever the state of the city. Smoking craters could be seen where buildings once stood, while other structures burned with no one able to put them out because they were too busy fighting the monsters that filled every street he could see. And the robot. There it was, straight ahead.

"Hang on, Dax." Jak started to run across the rooftops, wishing the Dark Eco inside him wasn't currently preventing his transformation into Light Jak. Wings would be pretty convenient right about now. Once, he even dared to cross a power line on his JET-Board, causing screams from Daxter, who proceeded to nearly rip out the man's hair that was then firmly held in the ottsel's fists. Finally, he was close.

Hellcat cruisers circled the robot, firing upon it, while turrets mounted on the city walls, what was left of it, did their best to assist in doing some kind of damage against the machine so much more powerful than they. But, their efforts appeared to have no effect whatsoever, causing nary a scratch or a burn on the robot's surface. The robot took out several of them, and then, when only a couple remained and Jak wondered if they would all soon be wiped out, the Hellcats' firepower and that of the turrets seemed to finally make an impact. The robot made as if to fire back at them again, but nothing happened. After a short while longer of this charade, smoke started to rise from several spots in the robot's frame.

"What's goin' on?" Daxter said.

They watched as the robot turned around and sped away into the darkness.

"After it, Jak! We can't let it just get away like that! Giddy up, Jak! Giddy up!"

Jak cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted at the nearest cruiser. "Hey! Get over here!" No, what was he thinking? That wouldn't work. He raised his Vulcan Fury and fired a single shot at it. The cruiser could take it. The bullet hit the cruiser with a clank, and the vehicle banked towards them. Jak waved his arms, as did Daxter.

The Hellcat came up close, stopping to hover nearby, a very angry looking woman staring at them. She took off her goggles. "Are you crazy? You—"

"I need to borrow that."

"What kind of idiot—"

"There's no time to talk! I have to follow that robot!"

The woman blinked at him. "Listen, bozo—"

Jak stepped towards the edge of the building and leaned in closer to her. "Listen, lady, I need the cruiser so I can find where that robot went so I can make sure it doesn't come back and finish us off. Unless _you_ want to go after it."

Sure, it was a pretty unreasonable demand, but now wasn't the time to be reasonable.

She narrowed her eyes and pressed her lips together. "Fine, but—"

"Thanks." Jak jumped in before she barely had any time to get out. It wasn't until after he sped off did she realize she had just stepped out onto a rooftop and began to scream after them.

As they headed off in the direction the robot had gone, Jak smiled, his old cockiness back. "Time to find ourselves a robot."

"Y'know, I think we might really be crazy."

"Yeah, but I'm good with it."

* * *

It's not easy writing platforming into a story. I know Jak has inhuman jumping abilities, but saying he double jumped and all that nonsense sounds silly in written form. Much of this stuff I wrote is impossible. Just utterly impossible.

Also, I am beginning to get very confused by the geography of this game. As far as I can tell, the forest is to the northwest, with the desert to the southwest. And then I have the misfortune of finding that the Wasteland is, in fact, an island. But, you know what, I don't care. I just don't care. Let's say the sand blew enough that it bridged the gap between the Wasteland and the bit of land Haven's on. Yes. There we go. (And there's no way that map in "Jak X" is accurate.) Please review.


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